... this is a trash can and people put trash in it.
You would think that might be obvious, and yet I found myself explaining this fact to a lady a few houses up the street when she rose from her spot on her porch to verbally accost me after I deposited trash in the trash can that was out on the street in front of her house.
"Why did you DO that?" she asked incredulously.
To which, I replied: "That is a trash can and I had trash to put in it."
The relevant part of this story that I've not yet mentioned so far is that the trash I was taking care of was the bag of poop I had just cleaned up from her swale (the part of the property between the road and the sidewalk). Which is probably why her next lament was, "Now it's going to stink."
I couldn't help myself. My retort was simple, and I said it to her slowly because I didn't want her to miss my point. "Riiight. That's actually a distinguishing characteristic of garbage. Garbage stinks. It's how you know it's garbage."
Our voices got raised, and our words got "choicer" as she threatened that I should never do that again and as I strongly advised her that the way she could control what items went into the trash can that the city owns and lets her use is to not abandon it on the street days after it had been picked up, for this incident was on Friday, and the trash was picked up on Wednesday -- or else it was out to the curb super early for the Saturday pickup. Mind you -- I would never trespass on someone's property to fill up their receptacle ... but if my puppy sh!ts in front of a trash can on the street, you can best rest assured that I'm going to a) clean it up, 'cause I believe curbing is the proper action to take and b) put it in the nearest trash can.
I'm half of a mind to get them a complimentary subscription to the local paper so that they can choose other more pressing issues toward which they can direct their indignation instead of over the final resting place of three feces pieces freshly out my dog's ass.
Or maybe I should just let it go ...
IT'S NOT EVEN *YOUR* TRASH CAN LADY:
https://gyr.fortlauderdale.gov/greener-government/recycling-waste-reduction/solid-waste-yard-waste-recycling-services/residential-curbside-pick-up-garbage-yard-waste-bulk-and-recycl-2386
GARBAGE SMELLS ... 'CAUSE SCIENCE, YO!:
http://scitechconnect.elsevier.com/talking-trash-chemistry-behind-garbage-smell/
SO MAYBE THIS POOP THING IS MORE CONTROVERSIAL THAN I THOUGHT:
https://www.thelabradorsite.com/dog-poop-disposal/
