Primedia Trash Cleanup Day - Trash Day

Dust, garbage, and magazine editors go together like anchovies and ice cream! So that's why we held the second annual Primedia Trash Cleanup Day, presented by Randy's Ring & Pinion. Last year we were plagued by bad weather a few days before the event, which hurt attendance. Even so, we still had over 100 participants and managed to make a big impact on the cleanliness of Johnson Valley near Lucerne, California. This year the BLM directed our cleaning efforts to Stoddard Valley near Barstow, California. And with clear skies, an amazing number of over 800 volunteers showed to fondle trash, win cool prizes, eat free food, and poke the editors with sticks.

The four fullsize dumpsters were filled in a matter of hours and two more were required to pick up the loose ends. Over 36 tons of garbage were cleared from the Stoddard Valley off-road area in one day! Our thanks go out to all the volunteers, the Inland Empire Four Wheelers for cooking lunch, the manufacturers who supplied prizes, and Randy's Ring & Pinion for presenting the event.

Damn, I'm no writer, man, I was supposed to be getting food for 300 people, that's what I was told to expect. Over 800 volunteers later, it took me two hours to get the food. I hit Wal-Mart in Barstow, wiped out the hot dog department, and I was still short by 400 hot dogs and buns. So I left three carts of hot dogs and buns with the manager there and jammed to another store. Stater Bros. had all 400 buns, but not enough hot dogs. How is that possible? The store had over 400 hot dog buns, but only 100 hot dogs to go in them...

Anyway, I had to get back to Wal-Mart. I pulled right up front in the fire lane because I had 400 buns in the bed of my truck. I gave the kid selling candy bars at the front door $10 to sit on the tailgate and keep anyone from taking the buns. I ran inside and "persuaded" the manager to check the warehouse for more hot dogs; you'd be surprised what a little South Florida persuasion will do. He managed to scrounge up another 300 hot dogs. So I grabbed all my hot dogs, 100 more pairs of gloves, 1,000 more trash bags, plates, five gallons of beans, napkins, spoons, and so on. It was crazy, really crazy. But everyone in Barstow was so cool. Everyone came out to help with the carts and loading. Good times, real good times. Oh, and Sean Holman from Four Wheeler took my virginity and ran me up my first West Coast trail in his Ford Ranger. Good day, a real good day. Bummer was I got sick and had to leave by 2:00 p.m., but the four dumpsters were full by then. It was unreal that over 800 people showed up! All that running around might have cut three years off my ticker and raised my blood pressure up for the day, but was it well worth it. Seeing all that trash made me realize how much some people just don't care, but then seeing all the good people spending their weekend hauling trash around made it all right. S*#%, I want to do it twice a year. With all those people behind us, I'm game for sure.- Eddy Cebreco Jr.