Sunday, November 13, 2005

Domestic Mystery

So after dropping Tra off at the airport and reenacting key scenes from the films "Risky Business" and "Home Alone," I spent the majority of my Sunday afternoon shlepping leaves around the front yard. Raking, blowing, mulching, lifting, bagging, etc. A more punishing brand of drudgery is scarcely imaginable. But I had ignored the task as long as possible and the leaf cover threatened to undo the overseeding and aerating job we'd recently deployed for the hilarious patchwork of weeds and crabgrass we call a "lawn."

Anywho, the mystery. After two and a half hours and seven Home Depot bags' worth of leaves, I was done. I dutifully arranged the overflowing bags along the curb, Home Depot labels facing out as is my anal retentive wont, and left them for the yard waste pickup (which is Wednesday). I dragged myself inside, stumbled into the shower, and flopped down on the sofa to watch the Falcons soil themselves in an uninspired loss to the previously 1-7 Packers. No problem, right? Just business as usual for a Sunday afternoon?

Well, no. When I went out around 7:30 this evening to answer a sweet tooth calling, the bags were missing.

Gone. Vanished into thin air. Was this some sort of prank? The handiwork of leaf bag hooligans? I can't even hazard a guess. My neighbors' bags (across the street and next door) are all intact. I half-expected to find the bags spilled around my yard or scattered about the street, but no. It's as if the Leaf Bag Fairy swept down from her magical realm and cleared my curb. Fat lot of good our street's "Neighborhood Watch" signs did. Anyway, all I know is that at some point between when I finished clearing the yard at 3:45 and when I left the house at 7:30 this evening, somebody (or some..thing?) hauled away those bags, and I cannot fathom why. It's really no big deal but, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little freaked out by this curious episode.

Any theories? Anyone in the neighborhood with suspicious sightings or other leaf bag malfeasance to report? I'm all ears.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How very strange...
When we lived in Atlanta we'd put old furniture and other odds and ends that we no longer wanted on the curb and they would simiply vanish, food for the junk-minded people of ATL...
As for your leaves - I suspect that some cheap schmuck didn't want to pay for leaf bags so he took yours, dumped your leaves on the sid of the road and proceeded to de-leaf his own yard.
See - very simple.
OH, and BTW - nice song!! Heard about Atlanta's new marketing song - you must be sooooo proud!
Cheers!

J Ballot said...

Mark --

See, I'd considered the possibility that someone wanted the bags -- but if so, what did they do with the leaves??? I had expected to see them strewn about my yard and the rest of the neighborhood but the surrounding area was spotless. Truly baffling.

Anyway, I'm not sure what you mean about ATL's new marketing song -- but my neighbors were discussing a song the other day and I assumed they were talking about something new on mainstream radio. That previously puzzling conversation makes perfect sense to me now. If we're talking about the same song, then it apparently sucks. But I'll reserve judgment until actual listening for myself. Why does Atlanta need a marketing song anyway???

Cheers my friend!

J

Anonymous said...

While raking and blowing the leaves in my yard this past weekend, I think I may have thought of the answer to this mystery.
I think that someone picked up your bags to add to their compost pile. Leaves make great compost, and they were probably replenishing their pile for their garden. So, I guess next time you should charge someone?