“Very nice, Jim,” Jake told his friend.

“What do you mean by that, Jake?” his friend asked.

“Just making up a conversation is all,” Jake told him.

“I thought you had something to say earlier.”

“What do you mean by that, Jake? I don’t remember wanting to say something.”

“It’s just that I know you so well, Jim, and your face said ‘”I have something to say.’”

Now Jim saw that his only best friend was right – they’ve known each other for almost eighteen years now, and Jake almost always can read his mind on what he’s going to think of what he’s about to say.

“Actually, you’re right, Jake. I do have something to say. It’s about doing it, not saying it,” Jim said.

“I thought you did,” Jake said.

“No.”

“What do you have in mind on what you want us to do, Jim?”

“I don’t know what you’ll say to this idea, but why not pick up trash?”

“I see your point, Jim. Are you talking about us with a trash truck?” Jake asked.

“Bingo. What do you say about my idea, Jake?”

He was looking at Jake to see what his answer is.

“When are you planning on doing this?”

Jake wasn’t understanding Jim’s yet quite yet.

“Any day is fine with me. We can even do it today if you want,” Jim told Jake.

“I don’t have anything better to do. We can even do it right now.”

“We can. Do you want to take your truck, Jim? This is your idea in the first place.”

“Sure. We can go as far as we can to clean up after the locals and tourists.”

Jake had to agree.

“Well, let’s not waste time. Do you want to drive or should I?” Jake asked.

“You can. I’m going to pick up the trash. I don’t want to make any money for doing this. What do you think, Jake?”

“I happen to agree with you, Jim. This sure is a good idea that you came up with. I knew you were going to say something anyway.”

“Let’s get started now and we’ll be done in no time,” Jake added.

“Okay. Since you’re going to do the driving, here are the keys.”

Jake took the keys from Jim.

“Thank you, Jim. Where are you thinking we should do this crazy idea of yours?”

“I don’t think it’s a crazy idea, Jake. Let’s start with my neighborhood if you think that’s a good idea.”

“Actually, that’s a very good place to start. Thank you for the keys to the truck.”

“No problem. I’ll sit in the passenger’s seat.”

“Okay.”

Once Jake unlocked the truck, both friends hopped in and put their seatbelts on and then headed for Jim’s neighborhood.

They decided to turn on the music. They both agreed to listen to rap and jazz music. It’s their favorite types of music. When they got to Jim’s neighborhood, Jake saw that Jim was exactly right about trash. A lot of Jim’s neighbors were nowhere to be seen, and neither of them cared about who is home and who isn’t. They’re only there to pick up the trash.

“Do you have any trash bags in the truck, Jim?” Jake asked.

“Sure I do. They’re in the back,” Jim answered.

“Just checking because I didn’t know you did or not,” Jake said.

“I always have them when I need them in a time like this, Jake.”

“It’s always a good idea to come prepared,” Jake agreed.

Jim has almost always been an organized type of person, and he isn’t good at that sometimes, so he’s thankful to have Jim in that area. Jake needs to do this more often without having Jim around.

They thought Jim’s house was a good way to start. His mother was outside when they arrived. She saw her son sitting in the passenger’s seat of the truck. Jim got out and grabbed a bag from the back.

“Hi, honey.”

“Hi, Mom. We’re only stopping by to pick up trash in this neighborhood,” Jim told his mother.

“That’s a very good idea, Jimmy. Who came up with an idea like this one?” his mother asked.

“It was mine. I’m letting Jake do the driving this time.”

He heard Jake roll the window down.

“Jim, hurry up. You can chat with your mom later.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later, Mom.”

He watched as she gave Jim a hug and kiss.

“Is there any trash here at the house Jake and I need to pick up, Mom? We thought my house was a good place to start,” Jim told her.

“No, but thank you for offering, Jimmy, but you can do it next time.”

“Are you sure, Mom?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. See you later, honey.”

“Bye, Mom.”

Once Jim hopped back into the truck, Jake asked, “What did she think of this crazy idea of yours? Do we need to pick up anything at your house?”

Jake drove the truck away from Jim’s house.

“Not my house, but Mom thought it’s not a crazy idea. She actually thought it’s a good idea,” answered Jim.

“Okay. Let’s drive around here for a while and see what we need to pick up, even if it means poop.”

“I know that poop counts, Jake. This neighborhood isn’t messy often. We have a pretty clean neighborhood,” Jim told his best friend.

“Maybe the little kids probably made a mess for us to clean up today,” Jake agreed with Jim.

“You can be right.”

Both friends drove by every house and then cleaned up the trashy neighborhood that Jim has. There’s no need to do this in Jake’s neighborhood. At least they’ve have their share for the day. It made them feel good about it. After Jake made drove Jim’s truck to his house, he got out of the truck.

“See you soon, Jim. I think we did a pretty good job today.”

“Me too, Jake. See you later.”

“See you.”

Then Jake was gone and now it was time to return home. So that's exactly what he did.

Note: This idea came from a facebook post, so I thought I'd write something about it.