Back in April 2008, I made the following post on my previous blog:
I heard this fellow interviewed on the radio, who goes into Toronto neighbourhoods at night with garbage bags and spends the night picking up trash. He also makes a point going into areas where junkies hang out and cleans up there too, making sure there are no needles around that kids might get into. He typically spends from 9:00 pm until 9:00 next morning cleaning and fills about 10 bags of trash each night. He calls himself the Goodnight Bandit and leaves a “calling card” on street posts.
It makes me think that if all of us did just a tiny bit towards making our communities better, how much better they could really be.
The other day I was driving behind a woman who threw a tissue out her car window. It flew back then swooped over my car and off to the side of the road. Then she opened a pack of cigarettes and threw the plastic wrap out the window. I honked my horn but she seemed to be oblivious to having done anything wrong. How difficult would it have been for her to keep her trash in her car until she could deposit it in a trash can? I would have liked to see that driver spend a night cleaning up a neighbourhood!
There is also a post about this fellow on Torontoist
Today I received an email alert for the following comments on that post, which I’ll also share with your here:
- bandit I just found this site I have been working on church street to help give halloween A clean start I dont get payed to do this and I dont work for the city of Toronto yet I just wish you people could see the smiles on peoples faces aww its so great I well be doing church and maitland area just come say hello and smile thank you all love and peace every on
27th Street 
wow cool tofind out that an old lady was cleaning up Litter good for her I hope she keeps up the good work its hard but worth the time doing. when you see people smile thats one feeling money can not buy.
To all the city works out ther I am not out to steel any ones jobs just trying to give you A helping hand this way you can work on the big stuff you guys do great work I like doing this and its some thing I find I am good at and it sure get people to smile so please dont get mad under stand I am just trying to hep you guys out and mother earth to.
if you should see me out there cleaning up some Litter I dont mind if you post it just send me A cope photo are video just so I have it hey they make movies about people like me one day who knows lol please injoy the cleaner side of sunnyside I will be working on that area soon this week I am looking for side jobs of cleaning up peoples yards and stuff chap but I do A good job think this is A good adea to make A littel pocket change to buy bags and make buttens .
the good night bandit now go’s by the name Toronto Green Knight and he is stell doing his litter clean up thing but more of the day time now its safer that way he is just A volunteer and one guy after all doing all that he can for mother earth and for all of use to he is now on facebook youtub and myspace just to let you know where you can find him for updates and stuff
dont let dreams and life pass you buy love life and if you have the dream I am missing out on love your children and wife treat them with love and treat them right I dont do bars any more
Why I do the good night bandit thang
13 years ago one night A bar fight changed my life for every and I was only in the bar for 20 minits after work I was going to see A girlfriend and her mother for A drink and some dancing there was some drunk guy the bar would not stop selling him beers he kept on asking my GF to dance she kept
Telling him no the next thing I know is the drunk guy came over to me and hit me in 2007 I found out that I got HIV I have only been with 6 women all my life and I have all ways used A condom . the good night bandit thang helps me deal with pain and lost dreams I have dreamed of kids and wife bad schooling would have stoped me from getting good high paying jobs but I would have worked my ass off to make sure my family was well looked after doing the good night bandit helps me hide the pain in side from lost dreams that every one has I lost my dreams do to A bar fight I don’t know much about laws but if I could I would go after the bar .sorry for my bad spelling but all this is true but doing the good night bandit thang helped me find A job I am good at and loved doing seeing the smiles on peoples faces that was great and no money could buy the feeling first thang in the morning.
bring A candel to 519 park on church street lets light up the night side by side show that we the good people of Toronto care if you can find A pink cnadle to that would be cool white candel for the men and pink candel for all the women and young you can do 1 or 2 its up to you I well be lighting up two tonight at 8 pm the good night bandit well shine candel lights to show he cares join me side by side if you care lets do 911 side by side
(new calling card *GOOD*GUYZ*
*VOLUNTEER*LITTER FIGHTER
(GOODNIGHTBANDIT@HOTMAIL.COM)
hello every one this is the good night bandit if you know of an area that needs A helping hand please let me know if you can send picks of the area that needs help that would be great I go by foot are TTC so if I can get to it I well try thank you here is one more name idea for good night bandit (GOOD GUYZ) I am just one for now but in time I well be working with others to help clean up the litter is it time for A no litter proteset should they be fineing people in Toronto for littering is that the only way we can help stop littering .
here is the new street name for the good night bandit (Toronto Do Gooder) people well stell know me as the good night bandit they well just see the new name more on the streets I am looking to getting Toronto Do Gooder done up in big litters for the back and on front good night bandit in small littering happy halloween and love with peace to you all from good night bandit I just wont people to know I am not out to hurt any one just out to help clean up the city so thats why the new name change Toronto Do Gooder sounds safe to me what do you thnk like old name better are new name better let me know what you think thank you
thinking name change for good night bandit do you like old name better are my new name idea better let me know new name (anonymous do gooder)what name do you all like better
Hey there Goodnight Bandit,
Thank you for your comments. Keep up the good works!
Last year I rode my bike to the confluence of the Main and Rhine rivers. There is a great view of Mainz from a park across the Rhine, and benches line the riverbank. I was sitting there enjoying the view and my packed lunch when an elderly lady came along picking up trash. I talked to her a bit. She was retired, and this was her way of doing a good deed. She came out once or twice a week and helped keep a truly wonderful space clean. I gave her words of high praise and made sure to put my trash in the container. That was the real kicker, as she pointed out: there were plenty of trash containers at regular intervals next to the benches, and yet people were still too lazy to use them.
This also reminds me of the backpacker’s creed: pack out more than you pack in. The idea is that you should pick up a small bit of trash that you find in the forest and bring it back with you to help keep the forest clean and, naturally, not leave any of your own trash in the forest.
do people like my good night bandit name should I come up with A new one do you have any name ideas I do like the name just wont peopl to feel safe and know I am not out to hurt people just trying to help keep use green clean and A live if no picks up the litter some day we could all die we all pay in the end so why not do are parts to keep clean and green this is why I am doing what I am doing so we can see tomorow and trying to help your children see it to sorry for my bad spelling but this is all out of my loving heart lets all work hand in hand for A cleaner world can your litter not the streets and parks I am just A volunteer not A city work lots of people think I work for the city when they see me doing what I am doing they ask me do I work for the city I tell them no its all volunteer work they all smile and say thanks for the great job and keep it up I am just one guy teaming up with the city works to clean up this city I bag the litter and the city takes it A way if the litter gets baged it can be picked up I would love to work for the city of Toronto start me off at $10.00 an hour 12 hours A day for one year if the city loves my work and the people of Toronto are happy with my work to then A full time job on school paper I have gread 11 with 18 creadits but on A nother paper I only have gread 3 and 4 schooling some how I made it to gread 11 my dream job was to be A cop to help keep the streets and parks safe for children to play safe I like doing this job have you every gone your how life trying to think or find A job your good at well I found one but bad schooling stands in the way I well work on my schooling on my day off from working I do take 1 or 2 days off
How interesting is that? Perhaps you should meet up with the guy. I would if I lived there…