Garbage man notices elderly woman's missing trash, enters her house and is shocked. Sometimes the shape of the world we are living in does not only come from the work of the people we see. Some people stay hidden, but their impact is enormous. Not everyone on the planet works for money. Many of us work for pleasure and their reward in the end is the well-being of others. Such a man was Jake Bland, so let's dive into his life story.
The house where Jake Bland grew up was a child got set on fire when he was only 5 years of age. His father had lost his life in the fire while saving both Jake and his mother. Since then, he had chosen his father as a role model. He understood The Gift of Life at such an early age, so he made a decision to dedicate his whole existence to the upbringing of those around him because he had felt the Gratitude in his dad's gesture.

He was an only child; his mother loved her husband to the moon and back, and after he was gone, she experienced great grief. It was impossible for her to find someone to love. They were alone and therefore took great care of each other, appreciating and respecting each other immensely. Right after this unexpected accident happened, Jake and his mother decided to leave Lexington and move to Louisville to start a new life. They found a cute apartment for themselves in the proximity of the Ohio River. His mom rapidly found a new job as a dentist and with time opened her own clinic.

Jake started working when he was only 14, focusing his whole energy of thought on helping his mother with everything he could. After things got settled in the clinic, he engaged in a wide variety of activities suitable for his age, such as retail positions, restaurant service, kitchen, and a little bit of office work. Their financial situation was always more than stable, and with time he understood even better the contribution he was making to society. He knew that without his help, his mother would probably never have managed to open her own place to see her patients. Without his work, many restaurants would have gone bankrupt. He knew that some other people needed the money more than he did, so he would often decline raises in his salary or a higher position in any business. He knew that all these materialistic aspects can corrupt one's mind and turn his personality to egocentrism. So, he preferred to remain modest and work in the service of the people out of pleasure and empathy, and never for money, fame, or arrogance.

Whenever he would start a new job, the other employees would look down on him because he had different ambitions. They wouldn't understand and took him for a fool. His mother always advised Jake to fight for owning respect through his attitude, but she realized after many conversations that his priority is to help others, and the rest is secondary. With time, his co-workers started appreciating his attitude and his will to help. He only fought for a clear mind and a healthy lifestyle so that his ability to work wouldn't be impeded. External appreciation meant a lot for him, but still, his main driving force was the happiness in his heart after knowing how much better people's lives would be after his intervention in many enterprises.

He decided that University didn't represent a path he was willing to take. He knew that his future would be built upon his helping hands, and he didn't consider University as a great help for his development. When he was only 20, he decided to volunteer around the world, being part of a wide range of charity organizations. He was living for several months in different parts of the world, completing a job in a place and then moving on to the next one. This made his heart grow exponentially, and he'd found many like-minded friends that he loved and respected like his own life.

He traveled to Costa Rica to save the turtles, been in China helping monks around their temples, brought much food and clothes to children in Africa, learned how to dive so that he could be part of many teams collecting rubbish from the bottoms of the sea. With all this traveling, he'd learned how to be disciplined so that he doesn't waste energy on things that are not beneficial to him or the world. He'd learned how not to take things personally so his mind wouldn't get possessed by the evil of the world, and he'd learned how to eat nutritiously in balance because he'd seen and felt the damage a bad diet can bring.

He got accustomed to wisely using the world's treasures for gaining strength and used that strength to endlessly heal the environment around him. He was in Thailand volunteering in a community of children in need when he had received a phone call about his mother who'd suffered a stroke. He was told she may not be around for long. He knew that it may be the last time he could see her, so he had immediately packed his back and flew back from Thailand to the US. Unfortunately, he made it back too late. It took him years to recover from the feeling of guilt. Many people, including doctors, therapists, and other healers, told him that strokes can occur independently from the environment, so even if he'd been there next to her, she wouldn't have survived in any case. He never entirely accepted this theory, but for a long time, this way of thinking had encouraged him to find new coping mechanisms.

Little by little, he was getting back on track. He took over the dental clinic and found trustworthy doctors who could operate there instead of his mom. He was prioritizing the well-being of the clinic to suppress the feelings of remorse. He wanted to know his mother would have been proud of him and grateful that she had left her legacy to someone capable of continuing her vision. After all these unfortunate happenings, he still never lost his will and hoped to help others. Once all the clinic-related aspects were relatively set, it was time for him to find his way again.

Jake wanted now to remain in Louisville. By this time, he had many connections and also a reputation for being an honest, hardworking, and responsible man. However, thinking about his past life and activities in the city where he'd lived together with his mother didn't bring him much joy. He was willing to help the world in a way he'd never done before. He was confused and didn't know which road to take. After waking up one morning, he thought to himself, "Today is the day I'll decide the path for my life." The only thing he was sure of was that his path meant bringing the greatest help to the world around him.

He found a new perspective and asked himself, "What am I most grateful for?" Having food and shelter was, of course, one of the main replies, but there was nothing in this environment he hadn't tried before. He'd worked in many restaurants, cooking, serving, and delivering food. He'd already helped many carpenters build new shelters for people in need. While thinking, he threw a banana peel in the trash, and then he got enlightened. "I'll be a garbage man." He left his apartment straight after and took a job. He felt how life is meaningful again.

On his trial week, he was asked which neighborhood he'd like to be responsible for, and since St Matthews was the furthest from his home, he'd chosen it and never changed it. His new job provided a sense of community and support. Jake loved everything about this job. He was getting along with most of his colleagues, having little chit-chats with many families who were thankful for his work, and he got a deeper sense of his role in society. He wasn't reserved anymore, and he was once more ready to perform his duties and carry on building the life he had dreamed of. He was not confused anymore about his existence. Of course, he'd never forgotten where he came from and the suffering he'd gone through, but he wasn't susceptible to being highly affected by his past anymore.

Day by day, he would improve his performance and motivate his colleagues. Many of them weren't happy with the working conditions nor the job itself. He was one of the few who felt how he was made for this. He didn't judge them but always tried to show them the full part of the glass, and many of them changed their attitude at work by becoming less lazy and distracted. They felt pleasure too when collecting the bins because Jake showed them the beautiful part of this activity. The company manager told Jake that the streets had never been so clear before he started to work there and offered him a raise. Jake politely declined, saying, "If you have extra money to give, hire someone else. They need the money more than I do. Or just spread it to the rest of the workers. Tim's wife just had a tough operation; he could use the money better than I could."

Jake's job implied not only cleaning the streets but also collecting garbage from people's homes every 2 days. When he'd arrive in front of their door, there was normally something to be taken away from every home. Sometimes there were exceptions when he'd have to continue his way without taking any bag with him, but it didn't happen often.

One day he told Joseph, one of his colleagues, "Hey, have you noticed the blue house over there hadn't had any to collect in the past 2 weeks?" "Not really, I'm only thinking about where to store and how to bring it to the recycling hall like we do every day." "No, we store it in the back of the truck and we bring it there by driving. Do you think they're burning their trash? I mean, even then, there's still some things like plastic that people don't normally burn in the city. I wonder what's up with them." "Jake, you're always thinking something new every day," Joseph laughed and left. He tried to raise this issue to some other colleagues of his, but it seemed like no one had a proper answer to his wondering.

Since Jake understood that no one else was concerned to know why there was no garbage in front of this house, he'd taken things into his own hands. He slowly walked toward the house, and shortly before reaching the patio, he saw in front of him a middle-aged lady walking out of the house, talking on the phone. They looked at each other, greeted each other smiling with glances, and the lady continued her way to the street. She started talking right after passing by next to Jake, saying, "I did it again. We can go for a nice dinner tonight, but please..." and she was then too far for Jake to hear what she continued saying.

All these incidents weren't enough for him to draw a proper conclusion about what was going on. The man decided to be wise and wait for two more days until he'd act on it. He was expecting to see some garbage the next time he'd pass by this blue house. In the meantime, he'd asked all his colleagues if it had happened before that someone had no trash to be taken away for such a long time. All the people he asked had the same answer that they basically never think of such things because the number of houses in the neighborhood is just too much to keep track of everyone's activity. He'd also tried to find out how many people were living in the house, but he was lacking authorization to such information. The only option he had was to wait and figure out for himself what his next step was going to be in order to solve the mystery.

The two days flew by like the wind, and Jake was finding himself in the same situation because there was no garbage available. He was heading toward the house, and as he was approaching the building, he'd seen the same lady looking at him through the kitchen window. He waved at her, and she came out and asked, "Maybe you have another location at this address?" "Yes, the garbage is always there where it should be. As a newbie, just try to stay out of business that doesn't concern you, okay?"

Even if Jake had recently started the job, he was already advanced and thoughtful. He didn't have a lifelong experience as a garbage man, but he knew quite well how to recognize a precarious situation. He was sure this was one of them. The next day, Jake got fired based on unreasonable arguments. It was the first time in his life he'd been fired.

He waited another half an hour to make sure she wouldn't return, put on Joseph's uniform, and rang the bell. It took quite some time until someone opened the door. He was pleased to see the friendly eyes of the house's inhabitant. "What can I do for you, young man?" the elderly lady asked. "Good day, miss. How are you? I'm one of the garbage men in charge of the neighborhood you're living in. I don't mean to interfere too much with your way of life, but I find it odd you almost never turn dreary."

Miss Anthony had recently turned 90 and was physically not able to leave her home. He found out that the only one she had in the world was his daughter, the lady Jake would always see come and go. Miss Anthony's story is incredible, so inspiring talking to you, but how come there's never any trash? That's very simple, Jake. My daughter never loved me, and now she takes advantage of me. She comes here almost every day, and I give her some money to do groceries for me. But she never brings back the money; she can have it. I know I wasn't always there for her, and the money we had wasn't sufficient. I was spending almost all I made for new brushes, paint, and canvases. She has the right to be mad at me. To reply to your question, there's no garbage because I have no garbage. I haven't had toilet paper or a bottle of water in weeks."

After finishing his tea, Jake knew what he had to do. He went to the grocery store and bought all the things he'd consider the lady needed. He'd returned to her home and brought the groceries inside. He explained that he noticed she has company and that he provided everything she needed. After the lady passed, Jake reported the story to WDRB, and this is how the world found out. He never told a proper address and never revealed details that may bring trouble to Miss Anthony's daughter. He thought that by making his story public, more people would be able to reflect upon the well-being of those around them and stop ignoring the signs they see. We must care about our neighbors and try to help them as often as possible.