Let's Talk Dirty about Garbage
Let's Talk Dirty about Garbage
The book about America's Best Garbage Stories
Shara Smock and Kathryn Taromina
Shara and Kathy always planned for
a series of books on funny stories about dirty jobs. We're now ready for you to
email us dirt on your job (housekeeper, mechanic, babysitter, anything). We
still have room for a few more garbage stories for this book. email your dirt to garbagebook@hotmail.com ! Or email us your
phone number. We can set a time to phone you to tell us your story. Thanks.
Did you know that the success of celebrations like New Year's Eve in New York and Mardi Gras in New Orleans is judged by how much garbage is left in the street? Yep, they collect then weigh it the next day!
Would you like to be part of the Garbage Book of stories from workers who pick up and haul trash?
Let's Talk Dirty about Garbage tells the best stories from over 200 garbage collectors nationwide, and has trivia facts about garbage collection in the United States of America. Among the stories are tales of gruesome finds, tragedies, and what jobs are too disgusting for a garbage hauler.
Who leaves coke in a couch? Who can make a rollout dance? The nation’s best garbage haulers know this and a lot more. They know what we had for dinner, and if we are considerate enough to wrap our cat litter or fish heads before we throw them away. They know who recycles, and who prefers to eat modestly in order to live in a larger home; they can tell who’s stingy, who’s generous, and things you may wish they didn’t. From what ends up in the trash bins, garbage haulers can tell a gourmet cook from one who is just learning.
These courageous men and women brave weather and natural hazards to dispatch the things we discard to the landfills. They find opportunities for heroism in the course of their daily jobs. For many, they are simply doing what they consider the right thing when they return accidentally discarded bank deposits, or repair and give away broken toys, or alert the authorities about criminal activities.
Authors Shara Smock and Kathryn Taromina are looking for garbage collectors nationwide! We are writing an informative and humorous book about men and women who keep our world clean by hauling our garbage away. We'd like to talk to you about your experiences.
If you talk with us and we use your stories, anonymously or publicly--your choice-- we will send you a free autographed copy when the book comes out.
Email us to find out how your story can be in our book. Tell us anything, such as:
The funniest, scariest, or strangest things you've seen in the garbage
What buried treasures you found in the trash
Which living creatures you have come across
Why you became a garbage collector
Stories of your interactions with customers
How do you handle the grouchy people who don't seem to understand that you are just doing your job
A few of the things we've heard about so far
Recovering a skull in the trash
Returning found money
Knowing a person's lifestyle by seeing his/her trash
What's in it for you? If
your contribution is used, you will get
the chance to have your story published &
a free autographed copy of the book!
email garbagebook@hotmail.com your stories for this fun book! Or email us your
phone number. We can set a time to phone you to tell us your story. Thanks.
A note from Shara:
I'm constantly asked how in the world I got the idea for such a weird project. Ten or fifteen years ago New York had a major garbage strike that lasted quite a while. It was all over the news. Young as I was (and a technical writer at the time), it caught my attention.
What would happen each day as this strike dragged on? How does society cope with all the garbage we generate when it's not taken away?
This led to thinking about the collectors' side of it, of course, including wondering what crazy stuff they must come into contact with regularly. And what is irregular for them!?
I wanted to write a book about the funny stories that would obviously come out of such rich material, but I didn't want to do the massive research alone. I asked another author about joining me at that time and his response was something like, "Ah... Good project... for someone... I've got to go now..."
Some years later I asked another writer and got the same reaction. Then Oct. 2006 I told another author my idea and she was as excited about the book's potential as I was. So we began interviewing garbage collectors nationwide for their input of endless funny stories, along with some heroic and some tragic ones.
Now here's a way you can earn some easy money:
Come to our space and share our friends at
http://www.myspace.com/garbagebook
We really appreciate your stopping by our site. After looking at our garbage
book plans, you might enjoy seeing/sharing our friends who are interested in
this project. They are Hollywood folks (all genre, from Bela Lugosi, Betty
White, & Randy Jackson), authors (modern, best sellers, and classics),
libraries, cartoon characters & cartoonists, animals, music, Al Capone
historians, saving our earth, NFL and NBA league players, sport enthusiasts,
comedians, philosophers like Sartre, artists like Dali, gorgeous places to visit
in the U.S. like the Grand Canyon. The Dalai Lama is also in our friends group.
Something for all ages and backgrounds.
Copyright© 2006-2008 Shara Smock & Kathy Taromina
Last Updated: May 8, 2008
