Greener Grass, Cleaner Cars, Etc.

I get my car washed *maybe* three times a year, but I had enjoyed my trips to the car wash down near 29 on Lalor Street ever since I moved to Trenton. First of all, they were, in their words, Vacuum Crazy!! And there were pictures in the corridor of what the car wash looked like in bygone days, as well as a fine assortment of air fresheners and greeting cards, all of which you could enjoy as you waited for your car to come out the other side, where it would be vacuumed (like crazy) and dried. But a terrible thing has happened. I was too stunned to notice whether it has changed its name or ownership, but they have revamped the whole place. Now you have to pay first at a little drive-up machine, and then stay in your car as you go through the wash. There was a guy there to help me with the machine, and I was glad he was there, since though I am generally quite able to handle drive-up tellers, I was somewhat disoriented by this one. It had that disturbing electronic-lady voice and it did a lot of talking. I explained to the guy that I wanted a wash and vacuum, and he punched in some buttons, swiped my card, and handed me a receipt. Okay, fine. So I don't get to admire the pictures and the air fresheners. I can deal.

But then I got to the end, drove up to the vacuum area, and started to get out. It turned out, however, that according to my receipt, I had only paid for an exterior wash, though that wasn't what I'd asked for. And I was summarily dismissed without so much as a single rag swipe. Sent on my way in a dripping car. Then I got home and noticed that my car was still quite dirty and now, also, soapy. Grr. At least it only cost $5.

So then the next day I was on Route 1 and decided to stop into the Tiger Wash or whatever it's called to right the wrong that had been done to my poor car. And man, those people can wash a freaking car. In the end you could have eaten off the hood. Or off the driver's side floor, which is even more impressive. And which I have done on occasion, though not on purpose (when your french fry drops, are you just supposed to leave it there??).

So it's a little thing, I know, and you can chalk it up to my aversion to change if you want. But it is the little things--like having to drive all the way to The Princetons or somewhere else outside my fair city to get a decent car wash, or a good cup of coffee on a Sunday, or friggin' groceries--that are wearing me down about living in Trenton. That, and the garbage. I feel a little bit like Andie MacDowell in Sex, Lies, and Videotape when I say this, but seriously, I don't know what to do about the garbage. The seemingly endless amount of trash that blows into my bushes every day is killing me. Oh, and the fact that I am, I swear to god, the only person in my whole neighborhood who picks up after their dog. I'm almost embarrassed to do it, because I feel like people are looking at me like I'm crazy. But I'm going to keep doing it, dammit, because that's what civilized people do. And p.s., to the person who periodically lets his/her dog pee on my newspaper in the morning...there is a special place in hell for you, sir or madam. A very special place, with a very special smell.

Obviously, there are many more important problems in Trenton than dog shit or car washes. The schools, and the crime rate, and the increasingly questionable antics of our elected and appointed officials, to name a few. And of course they're all tied together--the garbage and the other problems, the little and the big. And most days I'm fine with picking up the 300th pizza box liner/ lottery ticket/ soda can off of my sidewalk, paying my taxes, and working in my own little ways to bring about change. I'm mostly just full of crankiness and a head cold tonight. But I also have to tell you, now when I go back to the small town where I used to live, a quaint and snooty place I was totally sick to death of, I think, my god, how clean it is. And how completely safe I feel walking to my car at 10:00 at night. And how nice that there are several places to get a cup of coffee that are open all weekend long. I won't say "is that too much to ask?" because right now, in Trenton, I already know it is.