John Killion and his dad, Jim, policing Route 6A near Green Briar Nature Center.
Judy Coppola and Randy Hunt cleaning up down by the marina.
Judy Coppola and Randy Hunt with their collection of discarded items.
Just a sample of the trash collected yesterday.When someone comes tootling along sipping the last sip of an iced coffee and heaves the empty cup out the window, only one thing comes to my mind: Life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.
Some may say that that’s a little harsh, but I disagree. There’s nothing accidental about throwing trash out the window. The person that commits this capital crime is telling the world that he is the lowest living thing on earth and has no respect for his fellow man.
I grew up with Keep America Beautiful and Iron Eyes Cody (the Crying Indian). It was a great message, in spite of Iron Eyes Cody being Sicilian rather than Native American.
I created the following Top Ten Suggestions for Litterers just to put all of this into perspective:
10) No matter how old you are, think about what your mother would say if she saw you littering.
9) Whether or not you remember the commercial released in March 1971 on the second observance of Earth Day, watch the Crying Indian Commercial.
8) If you catch your kids littering, make them pick it up.
7) If your kids catch you littering, make them pick it up. They’ll quickly learn how the rest of us feel about other people littering.
6) Instead of throwing that losing scratch ticket out the window, save your two bucks and use it to buy gas to drive to the library and check out a book on environmentalism.
5) Take your habit home with you. Rather than ruin the town for the rest of us, throw your litter onto your living room rug.
4) Save your empty Dunkin Donuts and Mary Lou’s cups. They make great gifts for the personnel at the transfer station. Trust me. They love ‘em.
3) If you find yourself throwing beer cans, liquor flasks, and nip bottles out your car window, seek counseling. You’ve got worse problems than being a litterbug.
2) Rather than throw your empty cigarette pack out the window, eat it. It can’t be any worse for you than smoking the 20 cigarettes.
And the number one suggestion for people who feel compelled to litter is:
If your name is Ron and you feel compelled to litter out your car window, consider purchasing this hip hop vanity plate: M O dot R O N.
Good post Randy! Just this past Thursday, driving West on Rte 6,before exit 2 at the rest area, I wittnessed 3 individuals gunning trash from their minivan over the fence. I laid on the horn to let them know I saw it as I went by. I just wish I had been pulling into the rest area to catch them.
ReplyDeleteBob Horne
Randy, thank you for your top ten list, there are some great suggestions.... Most of all thank you for continuing to lead this annual event and for the original idea. Frank
ReplyDeleteGreat post--I'd like to borrow it as we have a vacation home. I'll give you credit. Thanks for keeping your community on its pretty toes.
ReplyDeleteNorma, please do borrow the post. Anything we can do to revive the Keep America Beautiful feeling, I am for.
ReplyDelete