Around Town

Today is trash day in my neighborhood, an occasion that brings out the local vagrants, who push their stolen Ralph's shopping carts up and down the street, digging into the dumpsters to retrieve recyclables that people throw out. While it's a sad commentary on our society that not only are there still unfortunate souls who need to dig in someone else's garbage, it's also terrible that enough people in my neighborhood don't recycle that the vagrants know they can make a killing every Monday and Thursday. And I certainly don't begrudge these guys the chance to make an extra buck or two.
   Except for today. I was walking back from the gym this morning, and I saw a woman digging through the trash one block up from my place. She was wearing white - unusual - but she looked a little ragged, with a floppy hat and big dark sunglasses, and she was jamming her treasure into a white plastic garbage bag, the nearly-transparent kind that you find in offices. While it was out of the ordinary for a woman to be dumpster-diving, I suppose times are tough enough that people gotta do what they gotta do to get by. Then I saw the white car parked directly behind the dumpster; it was clearly this woman's car because it was packed floor-to-ceiling with white garbage bags full of aluminum cans and plastic bottles.
   The car was a Mercedes-Benz. A newer one, less than two years old. Follow the link to see exactly what kind.
   I suppose I could be proud to live in a neighborhood with upscale homeless people. Or I could be outraged that someone with enough resources to own a new Mercedes would stoop to stealing from people who genuinely need the few cents a crushed can brings. The only thing I know for certain is that I'm confused.