Tracy Brown, Jamal Palmore & Tyrone Lucas - my refuse collectors!

It was 100 degrees in Atlanta yesterday. And the sanitation workers of Mabry Road were hard at work… as usual.

My garbage is picked up on Tuesdays and Fridays every week. Most days, I forget until I hear the rumble of the truck, and then I sprint out, dragging my giant trash receptacle behind me. Tracy, the driver, will kindly wait on me to get there, and even back up the truck if I haven’t quite made it. (Maybe it’s because he and his wife Jerri have six kids  & he’s used to waiting!) Jamal is always wearing shades and looking like a supercool Pirate of the Caribbean. And Tyrone is the quiet one with the sweet smile.

Like it says on the truck, it is for the PUBLIC, and man, do they WORK.

I’m in awe of people who do the jobs that keep the world on track and get precious little credit for it. I wouldn’t like to work their job, and I wouldn’t be in a good mood when I did it. But my three sanitation workers: Tracy Brown, Jamal Palmore and Tyrone Lucas,  are really nice. They wave, they wait on trash slackers like me, and they’ll take stuff that I probably shouldn’t set out – like a box of drawers that is ridiculously heavy.

For all the above reasons, and for the fact that I think it’s pretty cool the way they hang off the back of the truck and swing down in one fluid movement, lifting and hurling the bags in a graceful arc into the maw of the truck … I’m giving my $100 today to the 3 guys who take away all the trash I create, twice a week, rain or shine, heat or cold — and handle the job with a professional attitude and a wave.

Thanks, Tracy, Jamal & Tyrone, for all you do!