'Tis the Season

Here in Alvin, Texas, we put our recyclables out by the street (not by the curb; we don't have curbs) twice a month. Yesterday was the day, and I carried the big green plastic bin out and set it at the end of the driveway. A couple of hours later, the truck hadn't come by for the stuff, so I took another plastic bottle out so I could drop it in the bin. When I got there, I could tell at a glance that things had changed. There wasn't as much stuff in the bin as when I'd put it out. It took a second glance for me to realize that someone had gone through the bin and taken out all the aluminum cans. I wonder if the same person had done down the length of the block doing the same thing. It's a new way to pick up Christmas cash, or maybe whoever took the cans needed the money for a hamburger. The whole thing made me feel a little sad.