Believe it or not, this story is partially about trash.

A few months ago, we had some hiccups with our garbage company and our big garbage was overflowing with trash. We had to take it somewhere else.

The particular bag of trash I was carrying was not leaking any foul juices or reeking horribly of some obscene odor, so, for convenience, I thought, "I'll just put it in the back seat. That way we don't have to climb into the back of the truck." As I went to do so, my Father stopped me. He then said something that resounded with me:

"We don't ride with garbage."

What? Why was he making a big deal about this? It was only a mile to the place we were going to take it. I started to think more and more about it.

We didn't ride with garbage, but what had ridden with us?

My Dad had taken me and my friends to the mall and to town many a time. They weren't garbage.

I had seen him take boy scouts to activities and had seen him tote along my brother and his friends. No matter how rowdy they were. They weren't garbage.

He had picked up kids when their bikes had broken and taken them home. It didn't matter who they were, they weren't garbage either.

Humans aren't garbage. It doesn't matter where you come from, or who you are. YOU ARE NOT GARBAGE.

And I tend to think things that aren't garbage are pretty cool.