Friday, February 19, 2010

Poopstains and Perennials

I walk my dog most every morning. There is a little path that we like to frequent just by the library. I have a special bond to this place. It is non-discreetly tucked away between the parking lot and the drug store. I go there not because it is a place of respite or beauty or solitude. But for the sheer reason that I found 20 bucks on my first visit.

So each visit is somewhat made in vain... tossing over leaves and garbage left behind by passerby's with the hope of finding yet another president's face on paper. Sometimes the dog will do her business. And I have been shocked by the amount of steam dog poo can produce when it burrows into freshly fallen snow.

I made a mental list of the items I have discovered since. None of them are monetary. But there is great evidence that either bored teenagers, bored retirees or sufferers of midlife crises visit this place incognito. I have found my pick of MGD, Icehouse and Miller Lite bottles. Cigarette butts galore. Even denture cream and Zycam. There was an empty and faded box of Lemonheads. There was a cardboard advertisement for Chapstick. A shoe lace. Cough medicine. Fast food wrappers and a plethora of discarded cups. I noticed a broken lighter. Several plastic bags. A straw wrapper. And an empty box for an LED light.

And then I wondered how lazy one person can be when there is a trash can only yards away. I was almost happy the dog took a dump there. As a statement that WE think the parties responsible for making it a dump are despicable.

And then I walked away. Empty handed. Right passed the trash can.

1 comment:

Brian M said...

I am amazed by this on a daily basis. But, if you want to see me really, really agitated, litter on the beach. For years now I have picked up trash while walking on the sand and am still amazed that people can't throw their trash away.

One year, I find a pile of Miller Lite bottles, some broken. I started throwing away the one I could. A gentleman approached and started to help. We buried the shards of glass as best we could. Not twenty minutes later, I passed back by and a mother has just put her toddler down in that exact spot. I warned her of the glass, and she quickly moved on.

I have been thanked by native fisherman, which is a great feeling.