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Sanitary Man



Ted crawled from his warm bed to venture out into the cold frosty morning to go to work.
He left home before the sun rose each work day whether it be rain, hail, frost, or a hot summer's morning.
Like the postman the sanitary man had to face all the different weathers thrown his way.
“Morning, Bess.” Ted rubbed his hand over her back.
He wrapped his arms around her neck while he whispered in her ear.
He slipped the bit into her mouth before pulling the gear over her head to then buckle the cheek strap.
Ted led Bess to where the wagon waited.
Bess backed up to be harnessed to the wagon to commence the round for the day.
The pans rattled on the wagon while Bess clip-clopped along the streets to this mornings destination.
Rugged up from the cold, Ted prepared himself to remove the outer layer of his warm jumpers.
Bess came to a stop at the first address of the morning.
Ted lay the reins down then jumped from the wagon. He grabbed an empty pan then headed toward the first lavatory area. The smelly, putrid pan, was pulled out the back of the thunder box to be replaced by a clean one. He hefted up the full pan to his shoulder to carry it out to the wagon.
Bess moved on to the next stop after the loading, and removal, of another empty pan. She napped between stops. Some places had more than one pan.
This morning, pandemonium broke out with the yowling of cats fighting, spitting, clawing.
Dogs barked kicking up a racket.
The peaceful silence broken woke Bess from her snooze with a fright.
Ted had just placed the last pan on the wagon when the fight began.
Bess whinnied.
Reared. Her legs flailed in the air.
Ted ran to jump up on to the wagon just when Bess' hooves hit the street. He grabbed the reins to try to control the horse while the fight continued around them.
The horse wanted to escape back to the safety of her paddock.
Ted strained hard on the reins to control the horse and stop her fleeing escape.
Flying hooves galloped speedily along the street.
The intersection a matter of yards away.
Full pans sloshed the contents over the sides to the floor of the wagon. A trail of stink mess left on the street.
Another noise occurred distracting Bess from her straight forward movement. She changed direction at the corner. The sudden movement had the pans slip to the left.
Taking the corner at great speed one wheel hit a pot hole in the road.
The pans rose into the air sending the pan, and their contents all over the street.
Ted was thrown from the wagon to land in the stench spread in all directions.
Pieces of wood from the wagon flew through the air.
Bess on a mission to reach home didn't stop until she reached the peaceful quietness of her paddock.
Ted left behind to explain the circumstances of the mess.

Couldn't find an old type thunder box so used one I took recently of a toilet at Dingo Creek, Wondai.


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