Putin and Dumpster Diving

 

You may be puzzling over the weird title of today's post; this is what is on my mind tonight.  Perhaps there is some connection between the seemingly random topics that you will eventually see....who knows?

Let's start with Putin

Last night I happened to recall  Russian President Putin visiting President George W. Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. I pulled up a few articles about it to confirm my memory was correct. Yes, there was much ado in 2001 about the "good old boy" relationship between the odd couple.  You can read about that here. You can even read here about Putin visiting local schools in Crawford! 

In my research, I pulled up articles about Putin's 2-day visit in 2007 with the Bush family at their Kennebunkport conclave. ( HERE) I found this even more weird.

Now, like a mad man, this Bush chum is aggressively attacking the people in the Ukraine! Does this fit the narrative? Many pundits (read here) are speculating that Putin is indeed mad, mentally off balance from the pandemic's long isolation.

 I get that! To be honest I don't think the whole isolation
situation has enhanced anyone's mental health! However, we aren't all attacking and invading countries at will. 

Dumpster Diving

I was watching a YouTube auction recently when the host explained all the inventory was from dumpsters. ( Even the makeup palettes which she said she cleaned with alcohol. ) There are also many videos on YouTube of folks sharing the excitement of their nightly adventures.

I tried it once. Obviously, it was in the early 1990's when I could still bend and climb with ease. We were on the way to the beach with a 8 year old and a 3 year old in tow. An avid knitter, I had told my husband I wanted to stop at some yarn outlets at mills and factories along the way through the Carolinas.  

So, the first factory I directed him to turn in did not have an outlet.

 There were probably a few people around, but we didnt see any.  The garage door was open on the loading dock, and, lo and behold, there stood two dumpsters.  Before I put my hand on the handle of the door, Ken already started telling me why I could NOT do what he knew I was going to do. 

Out I jumped and quickly climbed up the concrete loading dock, which even then was a challenging climb. I got one look in the barrel of yarn being thrown away when we heard a noise.  Someone was coming. Then we heard a vehicle coming. Ken was having a coniption fit, scaring our screaming kids to death that mommy would be in a Carolina prison. 

So, reluctantly, I took one last look at all that yarn I would never be able to afford, and jumped off the dock and hopped in the car for the getaway. We looked behind us the rest of the trip in case they got our tag number. 

The first mistake I made was going dumpster diving in the daylight. Everyone goes at night and regals their audiences with tales of harrowing escapes. 

This sets off my moral red flags. If it so perfectly legal and ethical since it is only trash, why do they have to creep around after dark, hiding from security guards? 

Connecting the dots

What do Putin and Dumpster Divers have in common?

They are both trying to take something that doesnt belong to them.

Photo by Jake Heidecker on Unsplash