My little guy Jet turned three years old (June 14). Like most boys his age he is huge into trucks, and garbage trucks in particular. I thought how cool would it be if somehow we could take him to see a garbage truck up close.
I called the City of St. Albert to ask if there was any chance that we could come down to their facility and even just get close enough to get a picture beside one of their garbage trucks. The lady on the phone asked me for my name, address, and phone number and said she would talk to someone and see what she could do. I didn't have much faith that anything would come of it. Less than an hour later I got a call from Trevor Craft, the Waste Program Team Lead at the City of St. Albert. He asked if we would be around home between 2 and 2:30 p.m., and if we were he would be able to bring a garbage truck by our house.
I was in disbelief that they would accommodate a request like this. I didn't tell Jet that a garbage truck would be stopping by. We were playing outside when we could see the garbage truck coming down the street. Jet yelled out “Look, a garbage truck,” and started to wave. To his surprise the garbage truck driver waved back and stopped in front of the house. Jet looked up in utter shock, looking around wondering what was happening. Tyson the garbage truck driver came around the front of the truck holding a present and a card for Jet. The card was customized to read Happy Birthday Jet on it. Tyson was great with Jet showing him the controls up in the cab and having him move the mechanical arm up and down. We took our time looking at the truck and taking pictures in front of it. Before Tyson drove away he waved goodbye with the mechanical arm that Jet thought was hilarious.
Later that day we went to pick up our daughter Kinsley from school. Jet made sure to tell his sissy that a white garbage truck stopped at his house and the things that he got to do. When we Skyped Jet's grandparents later that night he couldn't stop talking about the gift that the garbage truck driver gave him. He would hold up the card and other things up to the camera for everyone to see.
What the Public Works division did for my boy was completely unexpected and went above anything we were asking for. We all want to do these memorable things for our families but don't always know how to make these memories a reality. My family wants to thank the City of St. Albert, Trevor Craft, and Tyson his new friend, with making Jet's birthday such a memorable one for us.
Joe Galbraith, St. Albert
