Trash Man

Kyle looked at the manager and muttered, "FUCK" then he turned and walked away. He was fucked and knew it. How the hell was he going to get pallets if there weren't any there to pick up?

The next day was Friday and he normally had it off. About 9:30 he received a phone call from Gloria. She said, "Hey, Kyle, I just had a great idea. My folks live south of town, ya know, and there's a lot of new construction going on out there. I see a lot of pallets in the dumpsters the crews use for scrap when they build new houses. I bet we could find some of the pallets you need out there. Wantta try? I'll help ya if you do."

"Hell, yeah. I never wouldda thought about that and I used to work on a trash route. We just never did new construction, but we did find a pallet or two on the route occasionally. Where do you live? I'll come right over if you don't mind."

Kyle met Gloria at her parent's house and they began scouring the area for pallets. They only found 17 pallets in the dumpsters but that was a start. Kyle was beginning to feel better about things but was still worried about his chances of failing now that he was in the hot seat.

Gloria helped him unload the pallets at his home. They sorted the good ones out and set those that needed repair to the side. While they were eating lunch Kyle looked at her and said, "Hey, what about the dump? Maybe we could find some pallets there, too. I think I can get in since I used to run the truck with Dad. It's worth a try anyway."

Kyle and Gloria hopped into his truck and went to the dump. They talked long and hard but finally managed to get into the area. They found eleven pallets they thought they could repair and seven more they took to use for parts. After the repairs were completed Kyle had 29 of the fifty pallets he needed. He made a run out to the plant to see if the weekend crew had emptied any pallets and found six more. Now he had 35. Shit, how could he buy lumber and build fifteen pallets in two days? Hell, he didn't even have the tools he would need.

Well, nothing for it but to get with it. Kyle raided his savings and found enough money to buy some green oak, no 3 quality, lumber from a local saw mill. He loaded it onto his family's trailer and took it back to their home. He carefully tore one good pallet apart to use for a pattern and drew out the design he needed to cut. He spent the whole day Saturday cutting lumber for his pallets. On Sunday all he did was build pallets. It was after 9:30 p.m. before he finished. He had 53 completed pallets and didn't have enough money to make his next truck payment that was due Wednesday. He didn't know how long it would be before he got his check for the pallets. Hell, he would have to make two or three trips to deliver them and pick up the scrap on Monday.

Kyle made his delivery and picked up the scrap as promised. He was pissed off when he found out he would be paid within thirty days for the pallets and removal. He pleaded with the assholes in the office but got no satisfaction. They really didn't care if he needed the money. Policy was "net thirty" on deliveries and that was when they would pay Kyle. End of story.

Kyle managed to borrow enough money from his mother to make his truck payment and buy gas but that was all. Things were tight, real tight. After that fiasco Kyle made it a habit to tour construction sites and pick up any pallets he found and any lumber he thought he could use from the dumpsters. Hell, he even found some good nails and screws as well as metal he could recycle. Those dumpsters were a gold mine and he wasn't too proud to mine them. After all, they went straight to the land fill so he wasn't really stealing.

As the winter progressed Kyle began to get his new business under control. He built up an inventory of good pallets and only had to purchase lumber occasionally. He continued to raid dumpsters for pallets, wood, and metal. To his surprise he made several dollars just taking scrap metal to the recycling yard. One time the plant rebuilt some air lines and he found almost a whole 55-gallon barrel of brass fittings to recycle. He received almost $1,000 for scrap metal that week.

We all know the old adage 'last hired, first fired' in a lay off. Shit happens. The economy slowed down. Not as many chairs got sold. Guess what? Yep, Kyle, Gloria and Bruce were laid off. Gloria and Bruce were hurting. Kyle felt the pinch but at least his pallet and scrap job was still there for him. He just didn't have as much scrap or as many pallets to deliver and pick up. His income dropped by a little over fifty percent. Since he wasn't working he got the pleasure of helping his father on the trash route once again. Yippee.

Kyle dropped in to the Dairy King to hang out one day and found Gloria there nursing a coke. He sat at her booth and they began talking. As he was complaining about the layoff Gloria cut in and said, "I don't know why you're complaining. At least you still have enough income to pay your bills. I had to move back home and now I have to put up with my parent's rules again and ask for money to buy a damn coke. My unemployment just barely pays my car payment and insurance now.

"I don't suppose you need any help do you? I sure could use a job here."

"No, sorry. I can take care of everything I need to do in a couple hours a day right now. I have to do that late in the evening or at night though, because the old man made me start helping on the trash route again. Hell, I have pallets coming out my ears so I sure don't need to pick up or build any more. Sure wish I could sell more now."

"Well, why can"t you? Have you checked with some of the other businesses around to see if they need pallets? Darn Kyle, finding them like you do in the dumpsters you could probably sell them for less than ten dollars if you had to. How much do you have in them if you have to build them from scratch? Crap, start a pallet business and I'll help you."

"Hell, I don't know. I've never figured it out. Gimme a minute here."

Kyle grabbed a napkin and did some figuring. He looked up at Gloria and said, "If I build a pallet from all new material I would have almost $20 in it using all grade three lumber. Crap, the only way to make out here is to just rebuild and repair."

"Well, why don't you go to other plants and see if they need someone to do what you do for La Z Boy? Keep hitting the dump and dumpsters to build a stockpile of pallets. Build a few if you need to and build up a business recycling metal and pallets."

Gloria and Kyle were still talking when his phone rang. It was his mother and she was hysterical. She said, "Kyle, your Daddy's in the hospital. They found his truck along the road and he was lying in the ditch beside it. I'm on the way over right now. Pick up the other kids and meet me there."

Kyle jumped to his feet and said, "I gotta go, Gloria. That was mom. Dad's in the hospital. I gotta find the kids and then get over there."

By the time Kyle found his siblings and made it to the hospital he was too late. He found his mother crying in the emergency waiting area. She stood and wrapped him in a tight hug then said, "Kyle, your Daddy's gone. The doctor said he was probably dead before he hit the ground. He had a big heart attack. Oh, Kyle, I don't know what we're going to do now. How am I going to feed everyone? We were just barely getting by with all of us working and now we won't have your father's income."

Kyle hugged his mother and held his other arm out for the now sniffling sisters. His younger brother was already wrapped in his mother's other arm. He said, "Well, at least I know how to run the route. I'm not working now so I can run the trash route and we'll be able to keep that money coming in anyway. Come on. Let's go home, now. We'll see what else needs to be done later."

Kyle got his mother and siblings back home then found out where the trash truck was. He got Gloria to take him there in his pick up and he finished the route for the day. He made plans to run the routes daily as his father had. They set the funeral for Sunday so it didn't interfere with his work. Crap, Kyle had no idea how tough running the route alone was until he had to do it. He always thought his father was just lazy and making him do his work when he had to help. Now he wished badly that he had a helper. It was a stone cold bitch getting in and out of the truck at every stop on the route. It took several hours longer to run the routes with just one person, also.

All at once he remembered Gloria. He hated the thought of paying some of their money out for help but he just couldn't do the whole damn route by himself and have any time to take care of his pallet and scrap business, too. He stopped his truck right then at a wide spot in the road and called Gloria. "Hey, Gloria. Running this trash route alone is a stone cold bitch. Now I know why Dad wanted us kids to help when we weren't in school. Would you be interested in helping me on the route? I can't pay what you made at the plant. Minimum wage is all we can afford but you will make overtime if we go over 8 hours a day. We usually have to work 9 or ten hours to finish the longer routes."

"Heck yeah. When do you want me to start?"

"Hell I wish you were here now. You can start as soon as you want to."

"Well, how about now? Its not like I have anything to do. I can be ready in ten or fifteen minutes if you want me to start today. Are you close enough to come by and pick me up? I don't have any way to get to where you are right now."

"Yeah, I can come by your place but it'll take me about 20 to 30 minutes. Wear heavier boots; steel toed ones if you have them and old clothes. You'll get damn dirty."

"Great. See ya in a few."

Kyle and Gloria completed the route that day and he dropped her back at her house. Before she got out of the truck he said, "Well, do you think you want to help again or is it too much for you?"

"No, its different than I thought it might be but I want to keep working if you think I can do the job."

"Ok. I start pretty early in the mornings. I'll come by and pick you up about 5:30 tomorrow. We have one of the shorter routes tomorrow in the ritzy part of town."

Kyle and Gloria finished working the routes that week without much difficulty. They were slightly slower than Kyle and his father could have done the task but they were still learning how to work together and how to do the routes most efficiently.

When things settled down after his father's funeral Kyle figured out he was stuck running the trash business. One good thing that came from his father's death (if you could call it good) was the family disposable income actually went up. His mother and younger siblings qualified for Social Security survivor's benefits and for their income bracket that money was tax-free. His mother could receive benefits until the youngest child reached age 16. Admittedly that was only two years, but it did help. The three youngest children would receive benefits until they turned age 18 or completed high school if they were still in high school when they turned age 18. Of course the benefits stopped immediately if the beneficiary married. There was also an earnings limit but none of the three of them made enough to matter. At least they wouldn't starve or lose their home. That was something.

Kyle continued running the trash route and his business. He finally had a chance to do some things he wanted to try that his father wouldn't let him do. He cleaned up the garage and large machinery barn. He organized tools and set out some of the wood working machines he purchased for pallets. He had a frame built to hold pallets while he nailed them together and was finally able to bring it inside where he set up sort of an assembly line.

He also had an area of the building set aside for furniture repair. He was amazed how much furniture he found on his trash route that only needed minor repairs to be as good as new. Hell, some of it already looked like new. Probably some rich bitch just got tired of it so she threw it away. He usually found the 'good stuff' the days he ran the routes in the higher income section of town.

Sometimes he found a chair or couch that only needed cleaning or reupholstering to be perfect. Other times he found one that had a broken leg or other piece of wood. All he had to do was disassemble the piece, replace the broken wood and voila! He had a nice piece of useable furniture once again. Some of the discarded furniture was very expensive name brand stuff. These pieces resold very well after he repaired and cleaned them up.

Since he and Gloria had worked in a furniture factory they knew a lot about building furniture. That transferred to repairing furniture as well. Gloria worked primarily in upholstery for about six months and was quite good at that. They purchased a used upholstery sewing machine to make recovering furniture easier.

After a piece was refurbished they advertised it for sale and always made much more than they spent repairing it. He gave Gloria half the profit on the furniture they sold. One day they were unloading another expensive name brand couch in the building when Gloria said, "Kyle, we're making as much money now as when we were working at the plant. Why don't we start going to garage sales, pick up good things, spruce them up, and resell them? We can repair broken furniture and refinish items if they need it."

"I don't have a problem with that, Gloria, but where would we keep them until we got them sold? I don't have a good place here. We're really out of space now. Its hell trying to keep the furniture clean until it sells since we have to keep it out here in the work area."

"Yeah, there is that. HEY! How about if I talk to my grandfather? He owns an old three story building on the courthouse square in town he might let us use. It's been empty now for several years. The ground floor was a variety store for years and years. Maybe we can clean up the old store and use it for a showroom. You're close enough to the business district here it wouldn't be a problem to take the repaired furniture there to put in the showroom. Heck, I bet we could even move the furniture repair work and tools to the warehouse part of the store and do that work there, then we wouldn't even have to move the furniture after it was repaired. I've given up ever being called back to the plant, and, frankly, I really don't want to go back. I like helping you on the route and here in the shop a lot more than I did working at the plant."

"I don't care, Gloria. Hell, I've been looking at our income and I'm amazed with how much we make from junk people throw out. Let's give it a try. How will we find someone to keep the store open, though? If we use the store we need to be open several hours a day instead of just advertising and making an appointment to meet someone to show them the furniture. I can get Tommy to help on the route Saturdays, or better yet Friday and Saturday, if there is a sale we want to go to. You can go to the sale and buy the items then use my truck to haul them home or wait for me to help you. I think we can make this work if we can figure out how to keep the store open." Without thinking Kyle pulled Gloria to him and gave her a tight hug in his excitement. Her nipples hardened enough for them to be noticeable through her thin top. She stepped back and looked at Kyle quizzically but didn't say anything. Kyle stared at her then turned away in embarrassment.

That evening Gloria asked her grandfather about using the store building. He agreed she could use it but she would have to pay all the licensing fees, insurance and utilities. Since she was his granddaughter he gave her a break on the rent. He agreed to take 10% of the gross sales for rental not to exceed $1,500 per month.

Startup fees almost scuttled the new endeavor. It was bad enough getting utilities turned on but then they got the insurance quotes. They were outrageous! Finally Kyle thought to ask his insurance agent if the store could be combined with his trash business for insurance purposes. They finally modified his policy and managed to get the necessary insurance much cheaper so they went ahead and opened the business. By the end of the fall when cool weather slowed down yard sales the two partners had the new 'show room' full of nice restored used furniture. They did their best to only stock higher quality items and their reputation was getting around. People started coming to them hunting specific items. One woman even hired them to refinish her expensive dining room set. They made over $1500 profit on that little job and only did it in their spare time. They even purchased some nicer non-furniture items at rummage sales and sold them in their store also. The partners began manufacturing solid wood furniture in their spare time to sell in their store. That was an almost instant hit. Money started rolling in.

They picked up two more factories to haul metal scrap and pallets away and back to upon demand. They were busy enough Kyle actually had to hire another full time man to help on the trash route. They carefully sorted out metal trash and, of course the occasional piece of furniture for sale then took the rest of the actual garbage to the dump as normal. From time to time they found items at the dump they picked up and brought back to their business for resale.

The week before Thanksgiving Kyle combined some of his pick up routes so they could have Thursday and Friday off. They worked longer hours the first three days of the week but it was worth it. As they worked he talked to Gloria about the meal. He said, "I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The family gets together and we eat all day long. We have our favorite desserts and the traditional Thanksgiving foods for lunch. It always tastes wonderful and is just a perfect holiday. The weather is usually nice enough we can enjoy being outside and there's no hustle and bustle or commercial crap like there is for Christmas.

"How about you? Does your family have a big gathering too?"

"No. It's almost just another day for us. It's just Mom, Dad and me. Mom usually fries chicken or something but we don't have a turkey or anything really special. Dad spends all day in front of the television. It's really a depressing day all in all."

"Man that sucks. Did you ever do the whole big meal thing?"

"Yeah, when I was little and my grandparents could come over and grandma and my uncle were still alive we had a big meal but now we don't. Gramps can't get out very easy so doesn't come over to our place. We usually go to his little apartment and mom cooks there. He doesn't have room in his kitchen to hardly turn around even if we wanted to do the turkey and all the fixin's. We just have a regular meal and go home after an hour or two. I sure miss the Thanksgiving meal, too. I even sneaked out last year and went to a restaurant by myself for Turkey and all the trimmings but it sucked. The food wasn't very good and there was no one to eat with. Guess I'll just stay home this year."

"Why don't you come over to our house and have lunch with us? You can spend the day and we can hang out. I'd really like to have you. I get tired of hearing the kids and mom bickering all day and I don't like the shows and games on TV that much."

"I couldn't. That's family time and I hate to intrude on your family."

"Oh, come on. You'll have fun and we always make way too much food. Besides, it doesn't sound like you do anything family like, anyway.

Gloria felt her pulse speed up. She looked over at Kyle. He looked so anxious she just had to say yes. She smiled and said, "Ok, fine. I'll come eat Thanksgiving turkey with you. What do you want me to bring?"

Kyle broke out in a big grin and said, "You don't have to bring anything. We always have way too much. I just want you to come enjoy it with me, uh us."