Thirty one year old Nick Santinelli, driver of a behemoth, New York City street sweeper, guided its heavy steel brushes around a corner drain. The sanitation worker prided himself in his skill at being able to keep the tip of the brushes at the exact edge of the curb, even while daydreaming. It was that kind of day, today. He could not keep any of the horrible thoughts out of his mind. The diagnosis from the hospital was tragic and unforeseen by both, his girlfriend Sandy and himself. If only the doctors could have been wrong. She had two years to live, possibly three, but no more than that. The white Allianz 4000 is a huge beast capable of sucking up an area rug. One California Hwy Department test required that the street sweeper be able to pick up a ton of sand in one minute. The Allianz passed with ease. Two hundred and fifty gallons of water filled the street sweeper’s belly. For street waste, the hopper had a capacity to hold 5.6 yards. The sprayers out front wet the pavement ahead at the rate of seven gallons a minute as Nick Santinelli straightened the sweeper onto 61st Street.
