Come on up for the recycling
Another pair of worthless phonebooks showed up on the front porch today, inside another worthless plastic bag. Our fearless politicians have us paying deposits on water bottles and hauling refrigerator-sized recycling carts out to the curb every week, but they can't stand up to that phone company money, no sir.
At least this pair had covers that led to an interesting father-daughter exchange:
Daughter: So Dad, are those the three best players on the team?
Dad: The guy in the middle is definitely the best player on the team. The guy on the right is the second best. The guy on the left is supposed to be good, but he keeps getting hurt, so we can't tell how good he is. Every time he gets to going good, he hurts his knee and then he can't play for a long time.
Daughter: You mean, he's so good that he hurts himself?
Dad: Yeah, something like that.
| Posted at 7:15 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (15)
Is that Sam Bowie on the left ?
Posted by Fonzi | March 9, 2009 7:53 PM
If we had to wait this long for bread to rise, we'd all be eating rice.
Posted by NW Portlander | March 9, 2009 7:59 PM
Plastic bag goes in the garbage, phone book goes immediately into recycling.
Posted by nancy | March 9, 2009 8:43 PM
Tonight is garbage night on our block. This load of trash is already gone.
Posted by Jack Bog | March 9, 2009 9:03 PM
I actually contacted a couple of the companies via their web sites (and received replies) requesting that phonebooks no longer be left at my house. Of course I have no doubt that I will get them anyway, but I figured it's worth a try.
The one I really liked last year was the Gay Yellow Pages ... not even in a bag and not thrown on the porch but on my lawn. If I had been away from the house it would've been a complete soggy mess in 20 minutes as it was already beginning to rain.
Posted by Al in SE | March 9, 2009 9:09 PM
I dropped mine bag and all into the recylcling bin and watched it being hauled away today too. I wonder if Verizon has heard of the internet and google? I dont own any buggy whips any more either. Joco
Posted by jocoze | March 9, 2009 9:11 PM
Perhaps the "hauling...refrigerator-sized carts...every week" was hyperbole, but I thought I'd go ahead and remind you and your readers that you don't have to put the cart out every week. I put out ours when it's full. Friends in Corvallis received a note from their hauler asking them not to put out the cart if it's not full, to save the hauler's gas.
Posted by Heidi | March 9, 2009 9:14 PM
Well, aren't you holy?
Posted by Jack Bog | March 9, 2009 9:41 PM
There should be an 'opt-in' for phone books and that damned 'This Week/FoodDay' rehash. I didn't ask for either, why should the onus be on me to recycle them? It's illegal littering. Can we just call it what it is?
Also, that man in the middle gave Kobe and Co. fits tonight... what a game.
Posted by TKrueg | March 9, 2009 10:09 PM
What really sets me off is the fact that every year we receive three or four different versions of the yellow pages, but we no longer get the white pages. I've contacted Qwest about this, and they claim that they have no control over phone book distribution. I've also contacted the PUC, and they say they don't have regulatory authority over the distribution of phone books.
So we receive 3-4 yellow page directories a year that we throw away, and we don't get the white pages directory that we could actually use. This sucks, big time. No wonder many people have given up their land lines entirely and rely solely on their cell phones.
Posted by The Crank | March 9, 2009 10:13 PM
The phone books haven't desecrated my porch yet, so all I want to do is celebrate the win over the Lakers. Forget Oden. Joel Pryzbilla for NBA Defensive Player of the Year. How do we get that bandwagon moving?
Posted by Gil Johnson | March 9, 2009 10:14 PM
I thought this was going to be a crack about 'rise with us' and your daughter wondering what that meant. Side note,I'm no greenie but why even bother with putting out the recycling can if its not full????
Posted by johnd | March 10, 2009 7:36 AM
Here's something that's been working for me: call the distribution number and insist they come pick up the garbage they dumped on your porch. It's worked for me so far with Qwest and FoodDay, and Verizon just promised to come pick up their directory also. Now my hope is that having to make that extra trip helps the distributor remember for next time.
Posted by heyyoukidsgetoffmylawn! | March 10, 2009 9:37 AM
Verizon (Idearc) phone books are distributed by a delivery company called Premier Delivery Service, Inc. headquartered in Fife, WA. If you have any issue regarding delivery, call them at 253-872-4700. Alternatively, you can reach their regional manager directly at 253-720-8444.
I just had a dozen soaking books dumped at my driveway. They basically littered up and down my street. It took several phone calls to Verizon (Idearc) to figure out who was responsible. However, once I got to the source everything was resolved.
Posted by Bolshevik | March 10, 2009 10:04 AM
Paper is what I love! Yes, I use the phone book and keep one in the car.
They feel good to touch, hold
They make jobs (unemployed, I delivered phone books)
Unlike computer info, they stay the same every time you look at them for a year.
Posted by don | March 10, 2009 10:29 AM