All I I want for Christmas:

Is a smile and a word of thanks to the men and women that work to move our trash generated by our convenient, rich lifestyles to the heap we call the “transfer station”.

For your information, these folks (employees of our local transfer station) work in one of the most dangerous industries outside of lobstering and logging. Yes, dangerous to handle germs, disease, sharp glass, all kinds of metal and steel parts, all just so you can go out and buy more crap that ends up there in a few months.

Teaching us how to recycle and reuse “stuff” more is just another challenge that transfer station workers around the country deal with. Let’s listen and learn from them.

How many times have you been at the “dump” to witness a harried or spoiled homeowner or maybe even a contractor, complain to (or berate) these Transfer Station professionals? Yesterday I witnessed a ringer.

This year, just go up to any of them, doesn’t matter; management or “in the trenches worker” — and ​thank them​, with your ​mask on and and a smile of gratitude in your eyes.

Trust me they will appreciate a gift like this from you and me.

Happy Holidays!

Peter Lindquist lives in Camden