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"All for not studying," it says. All of us who know Spanish pretty much let out an audible gasp and open our eyes a tad wider when we read it. But yes, the garbage cart owner asked for that to be painted on the back of his trailer. To us, it seems to be a condemnation of sorts, but honestly, he seems sort of proud of it.

I heard it during my growing up years, and I still hear it today- if you don't study, you'll be a garbage man. This particular week, a group of college-aged volunteers has come to serve that very group- the garbage collectors in our community. Certainly they are among the lowest rung of every society, the least respected, the frequently overlooked.

My community is in a bit of a garbage conundrum. For many valid reasons, the city has banned animal pulled garbage carts from the streets of Reynosa, switching over to a "motorized" system. Yes, the city owns a small fleet of trucks. But "motorized" mostly means men driving privately owned pickup trucks with trailers, or beds with built-up plywood sides to hold the garbage. It seems everyone is figuring out who's going to take their garbage. That seems to work in both a literal and figurative sense.

On this day an older man arrives with a garbage cart pulled by his donkey, Blanca. While our team of volunteers install a new piece of nylon fabric over his head to protect him from the elements, I learn that he has been collecting garbage in Reynosa for 25 years. He told me that he can't afford to buy a truck, so he'll just keep collecting garbage in the immediate neighborhood to avoid the fine for having a donkey out on the street.

He thanks us for our work. I thank him for his. I don't care what society says- I'm proud to be neighbor to these laborers.