People watching is the best show on earth...

Aug 26, 2007

Recycled

. Aug 26, 2007

Views


I'm at the beach today. It's humid and crowded, but still relaxing. I close my eyes and listen to the waves breaking. Inside my day dreaming, I hear an odd rustling sound and then, "Oh gross" from a girl to my right.

There are three teen girlfriends sunning together. They are white, two blond and one red head. All three are thin and clad in string bikinis. One reads, "Us" magazine, the other lays on her stomach and the third, who spoke, is sitting up looking to the left.

I look where she's looking. There is a Hispanic lady foraging through a trash can on the sand. She is wearing sweatpants, a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and flip flops. A faded red cap covers her head and a long black braid hangs down her back. Her face is tanned and creased like leather. She drags two white garbage bags stuffed with cans alongside her:

Blond 1: How nasty! That's disgusting. Digging through trash?
Red: Oh I know! And what do they get, like 2 cents a can?
Blond 1: So dumb. I mean, get a job!
Blond 2: You guys! She's poor.
Red: She's lazy. You can get a job if you want one. You can go be a maid if you want.
Blond 1: Yeah, yeah.
Blond 2: You can't if you're illegal. You can't.
Red: Okay fine. Here, watch. "Hey! Can Lady! Hey!"

The red head takes her half empty plastic Coke bottle and hurls it toward the woman, who looks up and shields herself. The Coke spatters out as the bottle arcs in the air. She picks the bottle up and empties what remains in the trash can.

"Thank you," she says.

17 Whispers:

Miriam Robbins said...

"There but for the grace of God [go I]." --John Bradford, 16th century

Anonymous said...

Interesting observation of different values, youth culture and a happy ending paradox of sorts...

Erina Hart said...

How awful. People can be so terrible to one another. A group of ignorant girls. I wish they knew better (at least Blonde2 seemed to be a bit more kind).

Great blog!

Vivienne said...

Indeed, Erina. I distinctly got the feeling Blond 2 was embarrassed by her friends' behavior but didn't pursue it.

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

God Bless the Poor.

JJ

Kaye Waller said...

I would wager that these girls still live at home at their parents' expense. When people point a finger at someone, they have three more pointing back at them.

Leann I Am said...

Your blog is sort of addictive. I love to people watch and always wonder where they are going or where they have been.

Thanks for posting this. It's about human behavior, good or bad. You have a gift with words, too. Have a great day!

Vivienne said...

Thanks, Leann. I wonder the exact same things - if I could crawl into other peoples' minds, I believe I would!

Anonymous said...

Hi Vienne,
I've seen some old people digging through trash to collect cans in my place as well. It always made me feel sad, but grateful that I'm living a good life. The 2 cents isn't worth for us, but it means a lot to such poor people. Those people are actually helping us to recycle and we should be thankful to them.
Nice post.

Vivienne said...

I agree with you, zunnur. I was also astonished that they assumed this woman doesn't already have a job. Probably two..three.

Rudi said...

Nice post. What youngsters say isn't always because of stupidity though. Wisdom comes with aging, doesn't it. It is however never nice to hear or see youngsters do stupid things. They'll learn eventually....I hope

Anonymous said...

People are so ignorant at times. I can't help but to feel sad for these three girls. Do they even have a clue?

Great idea for a blog. Keep up the great work!

deathsweep said...

These three girls clad in their most likely expensive bikinis haven't obviously had to wonder where their next dollar is coming from. True, young, but still intolerable and spoiled. I wonder if their parents were able to live the teen lives that they do? I wonder if daddies money would be gross if he earned it cleaning out septic tanks or if it wouldn't spend just as nicely? Shame; hopefully they'll see the world for what it is some day.

DS

Diane said...

I love your blog-- I work with kids from time to time it is really sad that they talk like this.... but I also work with adults ... and they too are so mean sometimes

Vivienne said...

You all make great points. I like to wonder about the experiences that helped all of us see beyond what these girls saw. Like Rudi says, wisdom with age. It's still disturbing that as teens, they don't seem to feel empathy yet.

MYM said...

I just discovered your blog and I'm addicted.

Vivienne said...

Thank you, Drowsey! I'm addicted to it, too. :)

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