Yes, this is quite a mundane topic, but rather relevant this time of year.  Of course, it depends on where you live and whether or not actual trees are present; and, naturally, if you are responsible for yard work.

I grew up playing in the leaves, and helping to rake leaves, and just generally enjoying all the colors and shapes and designs.  Never gave much thought to actually having to dispose of them.

Then I lived in a few places where there were few trees, or at least they were small enough that they shed perhaps five leaves, total.  One house we lived in had one large tree, absolutely glorious in the fall, but I don’t recall raking…or anything else except looking at it.

In Colorado, we had only sagebrush.  Oh, sure, people will rave about the aspens “turning”, but we weren’t close enough or high enough for that.  We just had sagebrush.  A lot.

Texas, of course, has no trees.  Well, okay, yes, the “piney woods” area does, but that’s about it.  I think all Texas trees are there; the rest don’t even qualify as “trees”, they’re more like overgrown shrubs.  Every time we made a trip back to Missouri, I was all “Hey kids, look – TREES!”

One reason I picked this house was because of the trees – two giant oaks in the front yard.  No, I was not aware of the darn gumball tree in the back yard.  Those balls are a real pain in the patootie.

So fall came.  The oaks were beautiful; even the gum tree was gorgeous – especially so, considering the spiky balls all over the place.  Then the leaves fell.  And fell.  Holy moley, there were A LOT.

Now, when I was a kid, I remember everyone raking.  Nowadays we have leaf blowers which are, by the way, a lot of fun!  And, back then, not everyone raked.  I mean, seriously, falling leaves is a pretty natural phenomenon.

The city we live in comes by every couple weeks and vacuums up the leaves.  Really.  Much better than bagging them all, certainly.  But the timing can be difficult.

You don’t know when they’re coming, just the week.  You’re supposed to have all the leaves piled at the curb, in a long line, by 8:00 a.m. on Monday.  This means that most people have to rake/blow on Sunday, which is fine.

But.  Suppose gale force winds crop up Sunday night.  Not good.  And, of course, since they might not come by on Monday, you also have to do some heavy-duty praying until the leaf vacuum arrives.  By the time they come, your nice piles of leaves could well be back in your yard.

Not to mention the street, your neighbors’ yards, or even the next county.

The real heartbreaker is, of course, the leaves remaining on the trees.  You can blow a perfectly clean yard one day, and the next morning it’s covered again.  And I don’t mean a few scattered leaves, I mean COVERED, as in inches deep.  It’s a never-ending battle.  And one we don’t think of until fall.

But it still beats those overgrown shrubs down in Texas….

Or: the logic behind the honking system in a certain Midwest county.

Most people have a job, and their duties are accomplished in a certain order. For instance, it would make little sense to vacuum the floor before you wipe the crud off a ceiling fan or light fixture, right? It will just fall to the floor and you’ll have to repeat the vacuuming.

If there are two people cleaning the room, it’s logical that the one who cleans the fan should finish before the other person starts vacuuming.
Basic, simple, and you’re probably saying: “Well, duh”!” Many of you, no doubt are asking: “Why didn’t I think of that?” I have a point, I promise, and this is it:

Sometimes, when someone does NOT do his job, it prevents others from doing their own job. For example, if my tenant does not pay his rent on time, my property manager cannot process the check and send it to me. This will affect my budget. Or, more likely, if my tenant does pay his rent and my manager neglects to mail the check, my budget will be likewise be affected.

If my lawyer sends paperwork to another lawyer, but that guy (or gal) doesn’t read, sign, whatever, the ball is dropped. I’m ticked, but I can’t very well call up the “other” guy and chew him out; who catches flack? My lawyer. And he is not happy.

Now, how this relates to the honking phenomenon of St. Louis County is this:

It is understood, in these parts, that if you’re in a long line of traffic and the bozo at the light has refused to move for longer than the three seconds since the light turned green, you honk your horn. Not lay on it, not honk it repeatedly, but a “hey, you – wake up!” is perfectly acceptable. And, you do NOT have to be directly behind this guy.

See, around here we get the point – at least in a traffic situation. If you aren’t right behind the guy at the light, it’s okay. You honk, the person in front of you does the same, and so on until the idiot camping out at the green light gets his butt out of the way.

Simple. Do your job, so other people can do theirs.

See, when you slack off, whether it’s while driving or returning a phone call or getting something in the mail right away, you not only drop the ball on your end but you cause others a lot of stress and strain. You don’t have to be perfect, everyone makes mistakes. But a lifetime of habitual mistakes is a symptom of the attitude of many: someone else will take care of it.

You know what? Someone else maybe won’t, or can’t. It’s a chain reaction.

So the next time you’re parked at a green light, don’t get all pissy with the drivers honking at you; smile, wave an apology, move along, and resolve to get your mind where it belongs. The next time you have a call to return, think about the person you’re calling and how they might just be waiting for you so they can make a decision or leave to pick up the kids. You might think waiting another day or two to mail something isn’t a big deal – but it might be to the receiver, it might affect his life in a big way. You don’t know, you can’t decide.

Just do your job, for crying out loud.