Shortly after my arrival in Maryland, my daughter explained the rules to me. “Dad, when you leave the house for a walk, you can turn left, but never turn right.” And that is what I did for the next six months. Every morning I would leave her row house, turn left and walk around the block. My walk always included a pliking visit through the back alley. I felt great satisfaction as I gathered bottles, cigarette butts and unmentionable trash left by the previous evening’s revelers. Wednesday was my busiest day, as garbage cans were emptied the day before. Surveying the alley, the garbage cans would be lying on their sides, at all angles. It reminded me of “Bowling for Dollars” – a split here, a strike there. Not to mention the piles of trash that escaped the cans as they were emptied. Each morning, I left the alley spotlessly clean, and felt fulfilled – I did my share to make the world a nicer place. The neighbors didn’t seem to notice, but I did.
–paraphrased, as told by my friend John
PLIKING 