An unexpected friendship, one sticky note at a time

Stevenson Ranch 12-year-old leaves positive messages for local garbage man

When Rancho Pico Junior High School student Jayden Bailey left a note on one of his apartment’s trash bins introducing himself to his local garbage man, he never thought he would get a response.

“I don’t really know why I did it, but I thought it would be cool to get to know my garbage man — so I started leaving him notes,” said Jayden, 12, of Stevenson Ranch. “I wasn’t expecting a reply, just thought he would see it and that was all. And then he replied, and I was super surprised.”

The sticky notes started with a simple, “Hi, how are you? My name is Jayden.” Soon enough the boy received an answer from Saugus resident Hector Rodriguez, who started working as a trash collector during the pandemic.

“At first, I wasn’t sure what it was about; but after I figured it was a little kid and thought the parent was OK with it, I kept replying,” said Rodriguez.

Without meeting in person, the two got to know each other’s favorite colors, music and even the teams they cheered on for the Super Bowl.

“(Jayden) asked him if his Super Bowl team had won and (Rodriguez) replied with, ‘No, they lost,’ and it just went on and on until we got a knock on the door,” said Jayden’s mother, Theresa.

Breaking the news

After months of several backand-forth notes, Rodriguez decided to pay a visit to his new friend and break the news that the visits would have to end.

“I decided to go and let them know that it was going to be my last day on the job. I had brought him a piñata with candy in it,” he said, adding that a new opportunity had come before him but that he did not want to leave without saying goodbye.

The exchanges between the two made it something to look forward to during the workday, Rodriguez added.

“It was such a good feeling; it was overwhelming,” he said. “They had even left me chocolates on Valentine’s Day, but it was all the little notes that made my day. I got this job because of COVID. I had two part-time jobs and talking to him brightened my day.”

As for Jayden, he’s sad to see his local garbage man go, he said, but

reaching out to him was “the funniest and coolest.”

“I think more people should do stuff like this, especially now because people are not as happy right now (due to the pandemic),” he said.

Courtesy photos Local garbage man Hector Rodriguez, right, surprises Jayden Bailey with a piñata after meeting for the first time, following positive notes Jayden would leave for Rodriguez. The two exhcanged notes that brightened each one’s day. They finally met when Rodriguez visited to tell Jayden he was leaving for a new job.