Trash Pickin'

Some years ago, I forget the actual source (perhaps NPR?), I heard a story about a couple who went for regular walks in a local park. In which there was a section which had become overgrown with weeds and was a magnet for trash. And each time they went by they agreed that someone should do something about this. And kept right on walking.

And then one day it dawned on them, they were somebody. And they cleaned it up.

Patty has decided she is somebody (something I had realized long ago). She decided to clean up our street.

Recall the town had decided to 'enhance' our roads (enhancement not included). As a result of the non-enhancement enhancement, all of the trash which had been hidden was now exposed and chopped up. 

Image Courtesy Patty Rehn

Her first haul was two bags, one, the clear bag, she found on the side of the road.

Her second effort, using empty bird seed bags (yes, we have a bird seed addiction) resulted in nine! 

I'm sure the trash collectors love us.

A couple of years ago we visited Rwanda. Where the third Saturday of every month is clean up day. Everyone, from the Prime Minister on down, cleans up the street in front of their home. Rwanda is a very clean country. (We also visited Kenya on that trip, plastic bags everywhere.)

I was more Rwandan than Patty, with my road clean up efforts restricted to our property's frontage.

When I was out of work, and walking most everyday, Patty got me this for my birthday, to take along on my walks, for trash picking. It is quite a handy tool for this task.

So, get yourself a picker upper tool and realize that you to are somebody. And help to make your part of the world a cleaner place.