I awoke at 3 A.M. and sleepily pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt. Maggie was laying at the foot of my bed chewing on one of her rawhide bones. I started some coffee and walked into my den to begin a new computer project. I replaced the motherboard and processor in my server and set up four 60 GB hard drives in a RAID 0 array. I then reinstalled windows which took an hour.
Dawn arrived and I headed out for my daily hike of three miles. It was a very overcast day obscuring the rising sun much to my chagrin. The cold air is supposed to pour in tonight followed by a day of rain. I knew I better enjoy today’s hike while I could. Tomorrow will be a day shut inside due to the weather.
On the last leg of my hike, I walked up past the shopping center to find Dumpster Diving Dan doing what he normally does. I stopped to talk to him.
“What have you found this morning?” I asked.
“Go look in my truck,” He replied.
I walked over and on the seat were Dan’s dog that was sleeping peacefully and a plastic bag of what looked like granny smith apples.
“Those will make a fine apple pie once I cut out all the blemishes and brown spots,” He said.
I lit up a cigarillo and Dan asked me if he could have one as well.
“I didn’t know you smoked,” I said surprised.
“I am too cheap to buy them, but will smoke one if offered,” Dan replied as he grinned.
Dan let down the tailgate of his truck and we sat on it as we talked. Our conversation wandered towards AA and why Dan quit going.
“I just no longer felt the need to go,” Dan said. “The compulsion to drink left me in my later years.”
“You drank heavy after coming home from Vietnam, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Those were dark times best forgotten,” Dan replied with a sad look on his face.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by bringing that up,” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Dan replied. “I just don’t like talking about it. It seems like another life.”
I finally bid Dan goodbye and walked the short distance up the road to my house. Dan had said he was going to bring me by a piece of pie tomorrow. I am not sure if I want to eat pie made from apples that were thrown away in a dumpster. I guess I will gratefully accept the gift and Maggie will have a sweet treat. She will eat anything as long as it is not moving. Good day.
8 comments:
Wel.. if it IS baked then I guess Maggie can have a bit
Sounds like your part of the country is getting hit with a cold front also. Here in AZ it has been very chilly. I guess the whole nation is having odd weather.
I remember my grandma taking old apples from the orchard and cutting them up (removing the bad parts) and then making an apple pie. I have to say it was one of the best I have ever had...however, she didn't pull the apples out of a garbage dump also. There is a reason that they are tossing the stuff in the garbage can....God bless Dan!!!
Blessings,
Lisa
I'm really enjoying your blog, and it's a nice coincidence that I stumbed upon it, since I recently read Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods. I love to hike, too. I miss living in the Rockies. Anyway, good luck with everything in the new year! :)
Sexy girls? Here? bugger ...
As long as you peel the apples and cut out the inner parts - and of course bake it, as austere remarked, you can eat it.
I can not throw away food. It is a sin to me. One of the few that really exist. Exist in my opinion.
Have a good day.
mago
I love apple pie, just slightly warm with a dollup of cream on top. Now that I have this picture in my head, I have probably gained ten pounds by just fantasizing about the pie. Great. :)
That pie sure sounds good to me!
My son and his partner eat dumpstered food all the time. And when they come to visit, they dumpster the neighbourhood sites, particularly the organic food store, and bring with them many edible treasures as their contribution for giving them shelter. We are so wasteful. I'm glad I have a son with conscience.
I just love these daily stories. I don't know what else to say. I will be reading you every chance I get, and if I don't comment, don't worry. I guess sometimes there are no words, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy what I read:)
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