I Guess That's Theft (or not)

Trash day!

Yesterday, I wheeled my trash cans to the curb like a good little homeowner -- all three of them:  garbage, recycling, and lawn waste.


This morning, on my way to work, I noticed the absence of trash cans by my curb.  (Whereas a curb a few houses away seemed to have a few too many trash cans.  Could not identify mine as part of the group gathered over there, though.  I do know my trash cans' magic code number off-hand, and I was too rushed to get to the office to investigate.)

Came home.  No trash cans.  Not in front of my house, or on the side.  (My housekeeper came today.  She usually adds the trash to the cans, and then puts them back on the side of the house.  Today she just left a garbage bag full of trash on the ground next to my house.  Splendid.  That'll be nice during the rains.  And when the stray animals come a-wandering.)

Have sent a rather annoyed email to the Keeper Of The Community E-mail List.  (I don't know why I expect her to answer -- she's been unable to answer my messages before.)  Still, if she circulates it, I'm willing to offer a brief amnesty -- return my trash cans by Wednesday, no questions asked.  Otherwise, I've got to call the City to get new ones, and actually make a police report for garbage can theft.

I am so not amused. 

UPDATE:  Yay!  Not theft.  RAIN.  My trash cans did, in fact, make a break for it overnight, as did many other trash cans in the neighborhood.  All of which ran in the general direction of downhill, thanks to last night's rainstorm.  Keeper Of The Community E-mail List not only realized that this is what happened, but made contact with the neighbor at the bottom of the hill, who reported that he did have two cans that didn't belong to him, and he noticed a third at the next house over.  (That was my smaller trash can -- it apparently couldn't run as far as the others.)  He left those two out for me to pick up, but the next neighbor over actually took my can in with his family's, leading to me politely knocking on his door at quarter to eight and saying, "Hi.  I live a few houses up.  You wouldn't happen to have seen a spare trash can, would you?"  He was very nice and said he took good care of it for me, and I promised not to leave my trash cans next to the curb when it rains overnight anymore.


It's a new variant on the "walk of shame," trudging uphill pulling your trash cans behind you.