We live in Suburbia, on a corner with one street that doesn’t go through and stops at a driveway and at the entrance to a Cul De Sac going the other way.

Normally it’s fairly quiet although for some reason there is more traffic than one would think.

At least I do.

Garbage pick up is every Monday and every other week everyone puts out a rolling recycling bin with cardboard, plastic bottles and pop cans. There are smaller, stackable bins for glass bottles, newspapers and something else we never use that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

Since I haven’t even seen a newspaper in years we obviously don’t use that one either.

Also since I have worked a Swing Shift off and on for the past eight or ten years, there are times that I will be sitting out on the front porch having a smoke at One or Two O:Clock in the morning.

Over those same years, I have occasionally seen people going through the recycling bins pulling out the recycleable plastic bottle and pop cans in the middle of the night.

Sometimes on foot but mostly someone with a little pick up or car they throw them in the back of.

I doesn;t bother me a bit as long as they are respectful enough not to leave a mess, which I have never seen anyone do.

People do what they gotta do and we are obviously not going to do anything with them.

The last two Pick Up days have been different.

The last time two weeks ago and just now this morning a few minutes ago, there have been guys out there in broad daylight going through them.

Something has changed and it is indicative to me that people are getting squeezed harder than ever trying to survive.

Just my observation that I thought I would share.

Anyone else seeing local patterns changing?