we moved into this house over 8 years ago. we had a trash can that came with it. it was an older trash can, but it was fine. nothing really wrong with it. a few years into us living here, another family moved in 2 houses over. they had a trash can that came with their house, too. it had a big gash in the side, and rain could get in. it was not a good trash can....at all. about a year after they moved in, one day after the trash man picked up all of our trash, the neighbor took my trash can back to his driveway. i was certain it was by mistake, so i let it go. the next week, he did it again. the next week, he did it again. wha?!?! this went on for a couple of months or so. so one day i ran to get the trash can right after the city picked up the trash. i beat my neighbor to it! i also wrote my address on the top with my sharpie as fast as i could. see, i had originally done this when we moved in, but the sun had bleached it out where it was not easily seen. i guess that's when my neighbor decided to make his "move." anyway, i had the trash can back in my possession. the problem was solved..... until that afternoon when he sent his son to knock on my door and tell me i had gotten their trash can. wha?!?! i smiled and said, "oh, ok." but did nothing about it. after all, we both knew it was not actually his trash can. but then he sent his son back to my house. this time to get the trash can! wha?!?! at this point, i knew he knew this was not his trash can at all. i also knew this was why he started keeping their trash can, which was actually my trash can, in the garage where i could not go get it. it became clear i was dealing with quite a piece of work. i told randy that i knew my neighbor knew this was not his trash can, and that he knew, i knew! randy said i was crazy. which is true, but i was not crazy about what was going on here... so one night i was driving this neighbor's kids to church with me, and we happened to pass by the row of trash cans on our street. as we did, his daughter looked at me and said, "yeah, we use to have a trash can that had a big hole in the side like that." I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW HE KNEW, AND THAT HE KNEW I KNEW HE KNEW...that I KNEW! i was not crazy! and this trash can with a huge gash in the side was not mine!!!
the next week i called the city and told them my trash can, which of course was not really mine at all, had a big hole in it and that i would like a new one. fortunately for me, and for my neighbor, they provided one for free. as soon as it was delivered, i put my address on it with big numbers. and no one ever took my trash can again.
that neighbor has since moved, which is too bad because i liked that neighbor, and i loved their kids. they were really great kids. i'm glad we were all able to work out our trash can situation...even if it was never really talked about. i know he knows, and i know he knows that i know. and that really is all that matters... well, that, and that i got a brand new trash can...for free. and now every time i see the numbers on it, i think about my neighbors. and then i smile about our trash can woes. and i wonder how they are all doing in their new place....do they take the neighbor's trash cans there, too? sure i'm a little embarrassed about how i behaved over a silly thing like a trash can. i shouldn't have done that. the sharpie out in the street may have been a little much. it's possible that the trash can situation was unnecessarily escalated. next time someone steals my trash can i will order a new one right away and try to avoid such behavior....i hope....
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