The seedy streets of downtown Chicago are a far cry from the nightlife on Whidbey Island, and yet one Oak Harbor resident was able to bring the grime and crime to life in his first novel, “Garbio.”

Fresh out of high school, 17-year-old Larry VanderLeest took a job working on a garbage truck in Chicago. On his first night, he said he found himself on Madison Avenue and witnessed a man get shot and killed about 30 feet in front of him.

“I did observe a lot of interesting things over the years,” VanderLeest said. “I saw a lot of fascinating things that you can only find in a major metropolitan area at night.”

VanderLeest worked on the truck through college and even went back during the summers after he secured a job as a teacher.

Now retired, VanderLeest lives in Oak Harbor and owns The Bluff on Whidbey inn with his wife Kathy, but he never forgot those Chicago nights.

He said the garbage hauling business has changed drastically since the 1950s and 60s and he felt he had to capture that piece of history in a novel.

His book, “Garbio,” which is a slang term for a garbage man, was released this summer. It tells a tale of rats, transients and trash through the eyes of Dutch immigrants who found employment on Chicago trucks.

In a media release, VanderLeest wrote, “Cowboys of the Old West, hoboes on the rails, sailors in the open seas and miners burrowing deep underground have had their legends told and heroes held high. Now I believe it is the garbage man’s turn.”

VanderLeest said the novel is fiction, but largely based on his personal memoirs and experience. He said the truth about the amount of waste and environmental damage that America was responsible for years ago is unbelievable and a story many haven’t heard.

“On the surface it’s kind of a strange topic to write about,” VanderLeest said. “I think if you were to go to Amazon and look for a book on the topic, the only books you would find are written for the elementray level. …This is the only book I have seen written by an adult at the adult level.”

The story is only about 150 pages and makes for a quick read. VanderLeest said three types of people would be interested in his book: people from Chicago, Dutchmen and those who have spent time working on a garbage truck.

“I developed it for old retired garbage men sitting in a nursing home,” VanderLeest said, “…but the vast majority of them don’t read.”

VanderLeest moved to Whidbey Island in 1996 when he scored the principal position at Oak Harbor Christian School. When he retired five years later, he and his wife spent time on the Virgin Islands where he began to write.