The Dog Goes “Moo”

True story.

In the Summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, I got a job at Barnes and Noble. I started out at the cafe. It was a pretty fun job, I learned to love coffee, and I actually met Aaron Hayes there and worked with him a few years before we met again at the Stirring. Very cool, but something terrible happened there that may just have negated my Salvation.

It was my job at closing to take the day’s trash out to the dumpster out back. The dumpster at the back of the B & N is surrounded by a six-foot high concrete wall-good for privacy if you want to sleep there, apparently.

(Keep in mind that I have nothing against the homeless-I've hung out with, witnessed to, had lunch with, ect. various members of the downtrodden, so save yourself a trip to the soapbox.)

Anywho, I was dragging this big sack o’ trash out back, and instead of walking around to the opening in the wall, I just hucked the bag over the side of the wall. My huck was too weak though, because the trash bag fell between the dumpster and the wall. Before I could walk around to put it back, I heard a rustling as a big shaggy head popped up and looked at me with a glazed stare. As I attempted a stammering apology, he started to help by picking up the trash bag and trying to push it over into the dumpster.

Then it got awkward. The trash bag just happened to tear open and proceeded to dump the contents right back into the poor guy’s face. I did the only thing that made sense at the time. I ran like a coward back into the store and wondered what Hell would be like.