Work Off Your Can by Picking Up Cans

My husband and I recently started walking/jogging on a regular basis. We had been pretty lazy during the cold winter months, but the warm weather last week prompted us to get out there and get moving. The first time, we only walked for about 40 minutes. I was surprised at how easy it was and how much energy I had after walking. I forgot how good it feels just to walk at a fast pace for a while.

The next time, we started down our country road and almost immediately, my husband wanted to jog. I didn't really want to jog, especially since the road goes uphill, but I tried it for a while. I was quickly reminded that jogging hurts much worse than walking and that I am completely out of shape. I had to stop and start walking several times, but hey, it was better than nothing.

As we made our way down the road, we couldn't help but notice the large amount of trash and aluminum cans along the ditch. "You know," said my husband, "they're paying around $0.70 a pound for aluminum right now." This was pretty good. The last I had heard, it was about $0.48 a pound. "Too bad we didn't bring a bag along to pick these up," I said, "Maybe we'll find one."

We walked/jogged along until the next stop sign, which was about 1.2 miles from our house. That's when I saw something white blowing in the breeze in a muddy field. "Is that a bag?" I asked, squinting my eyes. I started walking toward it and realized the field was pretty squishy, but since I was wearing a ratty old pair of tennis shoes, I continued on. When I reached the mysterious white thing, I was happy to see that it was a plastic bag, just what we needed. I grabbed it and made my way back to the road.

We started to head back home, stopping about every 10 seconds to pick up empty cans that thoughtless people tossed out their windows. I know the biggest reason for people to throw cans out of their windows is so cops don't find open containers as they drink and drive. While I don't condone this behavior, I at least see their reasoning. What I don't understand is why people have to throw out pop cans, fast food bags, and other non-illegal types of trash. With trash receptacles at home, at gas stations, and at the entrance of nearly every store, I see no reason why someone can't wait to dispose of their trash properly. Our road looked like a garbage dump. Anyway, enough preaching about litter-bugs; on with the story.

We split up and each walked back on a different side. It felt like an adult version of an Easter egg hunt. Whenever we saw a can, we yelled, "Can!" in an overly dramatic way. Sometimes we yelled what kind of beer or pop it was, "Orange Faygo!...Bud Light!...Palmer's Iced Tea!" We were getting exercise, cleaning up our trashy road, being dorks, and making a little money. We were having a grand ol' time.

There was one bad thing, though. Whenever cars drove by, I became conscious of the fact that we looked a little homeless. I had been cleaning the house all day and was wearing some ratty old clothes and shoes. I had no makeup on and my unwashed hair looked even more disheveled in the wind. My husband had a bit of what I like to call "scruffage" on his face and was wearing a stocking cap and sweatpants. Even though we live in one of the nicest houses along our road, people driving by probably thought we lived in a cardboard box in the woods.

When cars drove by we yelled, "Car!" Then after they passed, we yelled, "Game on!" (That would be a Wayne's World reference for those unaware). After a while, the cans weren't as plentiful. We were getting a little frustrated with how few cans there were. I started singing a parody of "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" called "Where Have All the Good Cans Gone?" It went something like, "Where are the root beer cans? Where are the cans of Bud? Where are my aluminum treasures? Where have all the good cans gone?" Yeah, it wasn't a masterpiece, but it helped to pass the time.

Soon our little plastic bag was getting full of smashed cans and we needed another bag. Lo and behold, another one was found just in time. I'm telling you, ask and you shall receive. I was marveling at how the bags just appeared at the right time when a vehicle was coming toward us. My husband was down in the ditch near some houses in a wooded area. Once he was down there, he saw some cans actually in the woods, so he started walking through the woods to get them. The vehicle turned in the driveway and that's when I realized he might be trespassing on their property. "Abort! Abort!" I said to my husband. "That's too far for a can! Get out of there, man!" He hurried out laughing and we continued on our way.

We walked on about 100 yards when we heard someone yell behind us. "Uh oh," I thought, "they're going to yell at us for trespassing." When we turned around, we saw a little girl running toward us. She came up and handed my husband a bag of cans. "Here, you want these too?" she asked. "Sure, thanks!" he said. Then she ran back to her waiting mother. We waved and yelled our thanks. It was a nice thing to do, but it made me think even more that people thought we were homeless. That woman probably thought she did her good deed for the day and helped the poor. I wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or just thankful that people still care.

The cans were once again found about every few feet and we filled up another bag. By the time we reached our house, we had three full bags of cans, which are probably worth about $3. We walked 2.4 miles in about an hour and must've leaned over 50 times. It was definitely a workout.

A lot of people don't recycle cans and might think we looked desperate or crazy picking up dirty cans along the road. I guess we just think that $3 is still $3 and it all adds up. Plus it helps our road look better and gives us a good workout. Aside from looking homeless, I guess I don't really see any cons. If you live in the country, you should give it a try.

*Note: I give my husband credit for the cheesy title. Haha

To read more by this writer, click here . If you want to be notified when she publishes, hit "Follow" at the top (if you are a member of Y!CN) or hit "Subscribe" and enter your e-mail (if you are not a member).