Idaho Falls

70 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 IF Out There by Gregg Losinski When we think about March often the fi rst thing that comes to mind is the line from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar "Beware the Ides of March!" Most of us don't have a clue what it means but we catch the general drift that "Hey! Watch out, it's March!" In historical terms, the Roman months were broken up into three segments and the middle of the month was the "Ides." Why Romans were supposed to be watchful is that this was the date that debts came due, sort of like our version of April 15th, Tax Day! Today there are all types of deadlines that come and go so that the importance of any one date becomes fairly insignifi cant, but what still counts are the ramifi cations of ignoring a deadline. One of my running themes after years of writing for Idaho Falls Magazine has been my fascination with the alleys of Idaho Falls. As a child, my grandfather enlisted my help to prowl the alleys of Chicago while my grandmother was shopping or getting her hair done. What is better than a spry fi ve-year-old eager to climb into a dumpster to reclaim some unacknowledged treasure? As an adult, I still fi nd alleys fas- cinating, like a snapshot into the psyche of a culture, they expose what is important to people by displaying what they use on a daily basis and offer the chance to peek into people's backyards. I was afraid that my modern-day Indiana Jones' adventures were at risk when the city switched to the new automated trash bin system that moved garbage collection from the alleys to the front curbs. But thanks to human nature, not all has been lost. People are creatures of habit and nature abhors a vacuum. Alleys are just too convenient a space to let go unused. Out of sight is still out of mind and even though the garbage trucks no longer rumble weekly down the alley, people still just can't help but to pitch things over their back fences. The really neat thing is that even though the city no longer collects the garbage, lots of the stuff still disappears! I have some neighbors that will put out stuff that still has a lot of potential use with the sign "Free" above it. Amazingly, other people prowling the alleys see the value and grab the stuff. Unfortunately, not everything that ends up in the alley is an unacknowledged trea- sure. Lots of it is just plain junk, not even of any value to someone who wants to save the planet by recycling. The worst offenders are those homes that are recently sold or occupied by renters. Those folks all know darn well that there is no trash collection in the alley, but since they've got way more refuse than their city-issued spruce earth friendly colored containers can hold, they pitch it out back. This especially holds true if there are private garbage cans from the old days still lying around. I think it would probably be a good idea if the city declared that any trash cans found in the alleys as of March 15 will be collected and disposed of. Leaving them out is just begging to have them fi lled by the lazy people trying to get their homes cleaned up so that they can get their security deposits back. So as winter winds down and our snow surrenders to the spring thaw, all that mis- cellaneous trash, as well as other biological treasures deposited by man's best friends begin to become exposed. This gives walk- ing down the alley a whole new twist on "Beware the Ides of March!"

• Cover