It’s always an exciting morning for Maple when she spies the Gum Busters truck. You never know when they’re going to appear, but when they do, you know they bring the promise of a better world. One you may not even have known was possible.

It’s one of the great mysteries of NYC: from whence all the gum? Maple has never in her life actually witnessed a person depositing gum on the sidewalk. She can’t even quite picture it. Do they remove it from their mouths with their fingers and then drop it? If so, doesn’t it stick to their fingers? Alternatively, do they just hawk it up and expectorate?

She’s seen all sorts of behaviors on the street, but she has never seen that. And yet, the blackish/grayish evidence suggests that people one way or another transfer gum from their mouths to the ground ALL THE TIME. Evidence also suggests that certain areas are more popular for spitting out gum. Like, people seem to think it’s somehow better to spit it out nearer to the buildings rather than in the middle of the sidewalk.

???

Gum Busters employs a power-washing method that Maple finds quite exciting to watch. And the Gum Busters take pride in their work. Dasheem notices Maple admiring the clean sidewalk, and invites her to sit on his truck, a thing that she doesn’t often get to do.

She would like to be friends with a Gum Buster. There is no doubt that when they leave a place it is nicer than when they first got there.

Maple knows that this clean slate, this fresh beginning, won’t last long. She sort of gets that people feel free to spit gum onto an already gummy sidewalk. But who is the person who first mars this pristine expanse, and what could they be thinking?

Maple is made from old clothing donated by my friend Jessica. To be honest, Maple’s wardrobe is not complete: she’s wearing shoes she borrowed from Clothilde. But she just couldn’t miss the rare opportunity to enjoy a non-stick sidewalk.