Tis the season folk....

now this story, i dont know wether to laugh...or smile...ok i did both. cute story....

Mexican man compacted by garbage truck headed south, thanks to donors
Associated Press
December 23, 2004 MEXI1224

MANKATO, Minn. -- A wayward Mexican man who hopped a few wrong trains and ended up in a garbage truck in Mankato is headed back to warmer climates, thanks to the help of strangers.

Juan Rivera, 46, left his home in Juarez, Mexico, last week. He slipped into El Paso, Texas and went to Riverside, Calif., to look for a temporary job. When he couldn't find work, he asked someone which train headed back to El Paso.

But the train went to the wrong city. So he got on another train, then another. Somehow he ended up in Mankato in the middle of the night, according to Blue Earth County Sheriff Brad Peterson, who heard Rivera's story through an interpreter. Rivera does not speak English.

Wearing only jeans and three shirts, Rivera walked to a convenience store and crawled into a trash bin to stay warm.

At about 5:30 a.m. Monday, a Waste Management garbage truck dumped the contents of the trash bin, including Rivera, into the truck.

When the truck got to its next stop, Rivera crawled out the back and the driver called 911. Rivera was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries to his head, shoulder and fingers.

Peterson said although Rivera was in the country illegally, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no interest in him. Having broken no local laws, and considering his harrowing experience, Peterson told Rivera he was free to go.

A social worker at the hospital contacted the Mankato Salvation Army and Rivera was brought there Tuesday afternoon. He had a good meal and slept in a warm bed, Elaine Schoeneberger of the Salvation Army said Wednesday.

His story of misadventure brought offers of help - anonymous donors bought Rivera a bus ticket, and others gave him traveling money, Schoeneberger said.

``He gave me a hug before he left on the bus,'' she said.

Salvation Army Capt. Bill Mealy brought Rivera to the bus depot on Wednesday to make sure the driver knew where Rivera was headed.

``Someone asked if we sent a good map with him,'' Schoeneberger said

They took our jobs!!

deyyyyy tuuuuuk our jabs!!!!!

Du dur dur dur.