garbage, trash, waste

There are a few professions that I admire the people who do the work. Not the work that they do, but the person that does the work. I’m not talking about being a director of big petroleum company, or the head of a multinational manufacturing firm, or even the ceo of a big international shipping company. It is good that they achieve whatever they have achieved. They must have worked hard to be where they are.

Anyway, the profession that I admire is not the type where the society has already dictates it is good. It’s not the type where their tax is more than somebody's 5 months salary, it’s not the type where you tell people what you do and they look at you in awe, it’s not the type where you mention the name of your company and immediately your status rise to another level. It’s not the type where the society has said that these people are the best, crème of the crop, the ones who sets the benchmark. True, they deserve some admiration but, still......

One of the professions (the people) that I admire and appreciate is the ones that most people take for granted. Sometimes I wonder if people even thought about them. They don’t look smart, most of the time they are dirty, people tend to avoid them, and their kind of work, hmmm…. Some may even forget they exist. Well…..parents used to say if we don't study hard, we’ll end up like them. Anyway, come to think of it, I’m grateful to these people.

I’m talking about the garbage collectors. The people that comes to your house and collects your trash early in the morning. It is like so magical, you create a mess of trash, throw away your unwanted waste, you put it into the bin and the next few days it disappears. And it goes on and on and you don’t have to worry about the rubbish pilling up ‘coz you know that somebody’s gonna come and clear it for you. Most people don’t care where the garbage goes to as long as it doesn’t stay in MY bin for more than three days! Most people don’t care who does that job, as long as they don’t miss doing the job. Most people like me…. take them for granted.

Yup, I admire the people who are serving the society as a garbage collector. I admire the thing that is in them. I admire their courage. I mean surely it’s not a profession where kids in school have ambition to be. I mean who would wanna bear with the stench? The heavy garbage? Or the juices that comes out from it?! Or put their health at higher risk? Urrgh…….Hmm… I wonder what kind of people are they; I mean what’s their story? Did they really flunk in school? Or do they come from poor destitute families? Or do they really really have no other options?

Actually….. Not everyone can do the work of a garbage collector unless they are forced under unavoidable circumstances. Anybody can be a leader in the corporate world if they work hard enough, be sharp enough, be smart enough, have the cutting edge and climb the ladder. But not anybody can do the humbling job of a garbage collector… …it breaks the proud, it breaks the ego, it breaks the norm.