Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

I DON'T want it back!!!

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • I DON'T want it back!!!

    A time honored tradition out here is when disposing of something large/unneeded/unwanted, but still usable is to put it on the side of the road for someone to come by and take. (Furniture, broken appliances, out-grown kid stuff, etc.) If its not gone by garbage day (and it always is), the garbage guys will pick it up and add a small charge to your bill.

    The people across the street put several such items out, including a rather rickety metal shelving unit. I looked at it myself because "hey, free shelving", but it needed more work than I was willing to do for a 8 inch deep unit. If I had wanted it, I could have carried it home myself, that's how light and flimsy it was.

    After about an hour, someone stopped and asked the owner to help load it up in their truck because metal shelving is so heavy. He obliged, but less than an hour later the same guy came back and demanded that the ex-owner help him unload it because it was a piece of s**t. The ex-owner firmly told the current owner that it belonged to him now, and that just because current owner was driving around picking up trash on the side of the road, that he couldn't return that trash if it didn't work with the rest of his trash. Things went downhill after that.

    Current owner showed that he really could move the shelving by himself. He kicked it out of the truck on the road and got in his truck and drove off.

    Ex-owner must have called the police because I had 2 nice, polite Sheriff's knock on my door for a statement about the illegal littering I had witnessed. They were both doing their best to not react to the stupidity in front of a "civilian", but by the time I told my story all of us were laughing so hard we had water coming out of our eyes.

  • #2
    Chuckles, "And if they find that guy, that might be the most expensive free shelving in town."
    Seph
    Taur10
    "You're supposed to be the head of covert intelligence. Right now, I'm not seeing a hell of a lot of intelligence. Covert, overt, or otherwise!"-Lochley, B5, A View from the Gallery

    Comment


    • #3
      Out this way, there's some laws on the books making littering a $1000, nonreducible fine, plus possible additions. Would be so much easier (on the wallet, if nothing else) to find someone else to carry off the stuff.

      Comment


      • #4
        Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer picks up a free trampoline ("Trammoline! Tram-BAMP-oline…!") from Krusty the clown, but when a bunch of kids get hurt jumping on it, he tries to return it, and Krusty pulls out a shotgun and tells him to "Just keep right on driving".

        Comment


        • #5
          I mean... It's already in your truck. It's steel. Take it to a scrap yard. It's probably too little for them to pay you for it, but they'll still take it off your hands, free. Yeesh.

          Comment


          • #6
            I honestly thought our situation was going to devolve to fisticuffs and had called my sweetie to watch with me because we don't usually have front row seats to this sort of entertainment.

            It might have ended up with fists flying, but the when the new owner kicked the shelves out of the truck, he just jumped over the side and jumped into his truck and peeled out while the ex-owner was still shouting very rude things at him. I'm pretty sure the ex-owner got his license because he had his phone out in the picture taking position.

            My plan was to drag a trash can over and pick up the metal from the street because I didn't want to damage my tires running over it, but the cops picked it all up and took it away with them.

            The fines out here for littering are pretty steep, but if you get charged with illegal dumping they jump to 2,500. The police don't usually spend their time picking up litter, so...

            Comment


            • #7
              The police likely have plates and/or enough identifying information on the truck and driver. With them picking up the shelving, the officers are probably a little annoyed with the guy.

              Having an officer annoyed at you is one of those expensive things. They can get rather enthusiastic about finding things to write citations on. Picture if you will, that super-expensive, brand new car, displayed as a centerpiece on the dealer's showroom, all polished and pristine. A good officer can find violations on that car. Mr. Stupid's truck doesn't stand a chance.
              Quite frankly, how much crap rains down on him is tempered by how much paperwork the officers want to end up filling out.

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Buzzard View Post
                Picture if you will, that super-expensive, brand new car, displayed as a centerpiece on the dealer's showroom, all polished and pristine. A good officer can find violations on that car.
                Well, yeah. No license. No registration. No insurance. No inspection sticker. I mean, that one's easy.
                You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth Kittish View Post
                  Well, yeah. No license. No registration. No insurance. No inspection sticker. I mean, that one's easy.
                  Nope, those only count when the car hits the public roads, and the temp registration/license issued at time of sale covers one for a while. One of the sneaky ones is the horn. Is it loud enough, too loud? Headlights are supposed to be a certain distance above the ground, yet not all designs actually make it that high. Window tinting is a touchy subject out this way. The list goes on. A well-versed officer is only limited by how much time they want to spend on it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    We once put out a bathtub. I told the Hubs no one would take a bath tub, but sure enough, someone stopped one day. I encouraged Hubs to go out and help the guy before he changed his mind. Some one was building a house on the cheap. I think it was a glazed, cast iron tub.

                    Quoth Buzzard View Post
                    Having an officer annoyed at you is one of those expensive things. They can get rather enthusiastic about finding things to write citations on.
                    A former coworker once wrote a letter to the chief of police because she thought she shouldn't have gotten a ticket, or the LEO wasn't polite enough, or something. This was in a town with a population of about 7500. Oddly, she got stopped more, after that.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Glazed cast iron tub? Those things can go for lotsabucks, depending on design. The guy may have gotten one hell of a score there. Yes, I know, for you it was "Good riddance".

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Buzzard View Post
                        Glazed cast iron tub? Those things can go for lotsabucks, depending on design. The guy may have gotten one hell of a score there. Yes, I know, for you it was "Good riddance".
                        Just like that old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

                        I have a few items I rescued from the trash long ago, repaired and still using today.

                        And then there are those items I put out for trash pickup which disappear long before the trash men come. Mrs. IA and I will often bet on how long the item will stay on the curb.
                        "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth workerbee222 View Post
                          Oddly, she got stopped more, after that.
                          In college, I delivered pizzas. Towards the end of May, I got a moving violation for parking in a "No Parking" zone while making a delivery. Not a parking ticket, a moving violation. Illinois law at the time allowed vehicles to stop in a no parking zone to unload. Cop was trying to make quota and figured I would not be around for the summer to challenge it.

                          Wrong.

                          I challenged it. The judge sided with me and gave a lecture to the cop.

                          Want to guess how many time I got pulled over the next school year?
                          Life is too short to not eat popcorn.
                          Save the Ales!
                          Toys for Tots at Rooster's Cafe

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X