I was driving to work one morning and noticed some people stacking garbage out in front of a home a few blocks from my house. It was garbage pickup day in my neighborhood, so I knew if I waited until after work it would be gone. I stopped and told the people that I would pay them $20 for their garbage, without even looking in it. They looked at me like I was crazy, but took my money (since everything outside the garbage can was going to cost them “overage charges” they were saving money) and helped me fill the back of my pickup with boxes and garbage bags full of the stuff from the pile on the curb. My truck had a canopy on it, and I filled the back as full as I could and then crammed a couple of bags into the passenger seat.
That night after work I emptied the truck in my garage and started going through the contents…. It soon became obvious that they had been dumping the drawers from the furniture and cabinets into the garbage bags, without even looking at the contents. The “garbage” contained, silver coins, jewelry, a derringer, pocket knives, military medals, trade tokens, pocket watches, etc. The garbage bags contained mostly clothing, but not your usual polyester stuff, there were military uniforms, beaded flapper dresses, and some beautiful embroidered western shirts.
If they had left everything in the house they would have done much less work and made much more money!
Unfortunately, this scenario (things of value being thrown in the garbage ) takes place innumerable times every day across the country, and it is rare that anyone intervenes.
When I started my business 25 years ago, my main focus was not so much making money, as providing a service and keeping items of value from being destroyed. I HAVE FAILED! At least a couple times a month someone says, “I wish I had known about you when I had to empty my ————‘s estate.” When I point out that I am in the phone book, they reply, “I didn’t look because I didn’t know such a service existed.”
Postscript, a neighbor later told me that the people had continued putting stuff out on the curb after I left, and that by the time the garbage truck came the pile was even larger than the one I took.
I have always wondered what was in there………