He Can Do

Lunchtime. A man in a blue cap and yellow dishwashing gloves crushes a Slice can under his foot. He drops the flattened metal into a plastic bag and walks to the next trash can. A Dr. Pep- per can meets the same fate, and bag is filled.

Mike Sfisko, 76, has been collecting aluminum cans each day for three years at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo and has no plans to stop. “The canyons in California are being filled up with glass bottles and cans, and recycling helps the future,” he said of his voluntary effort.

The former World War II Army lieutenant gathers about 200 cans on campus each day. He finds them on the ground, on lunch tables and in trash cans. Students often hold out their cans to speed his daily rounds. His personal touch has proved a winner.

After his rounds, Sfisko volunteers 3 1/2 hours each day as an assistant coach for the boys’ varsity baseball team. He played first base in the minor leagues for the Tallahassee Colonels in 1939. Sfisko hits ground balls to players and gives advice to the team.

The players “respect him for his experience and the knowledge it gives him,” says head coach Randy Brouwer.

Michelle Pham junior, Trabuco Hills High