This story by Ray Bradbury is called The Garbage Collector and it tells the simple story of a garbage man. At first, the story discusses the mundane aspects of his job and the little ways he and his friends keep it interesting, then it takes us right to him having a discussion with his wife about how he wants to quit his job. You're left startled and curious and as he proceeds, you're left to slowly gather information about what's going on; finally coming to the conclusion that there is a war going on and it will soon become the garbage men's job to clean up the dead bodies. The story itself is anticlamactic considering that nothing actually happens and no action is taken, but the images you're left with leave you shaken.
A shocking quote that the protagonist says to himself is: "Wondering if you put the bodies in the trucks... with the heads on the right, or the feet on the right. Men and women together, or separated? Children in one truck, or mixed with men and women? Dogs in special trucks, or just let them lay? Wondering how many bodies one garbage truck can hold. And wondering if you stack them on top of each other and finally knowing you must just have to."
This story is definitely interesting and is successful as a short story. Though nothing extraordinary physically happens, you're left to ponder and fill in the blanks, which almost makes the story more effective since one's imagination can supply more detail than any written story.
