For The Man Who Collected My Papers Blowing About In The Wind…
Missed Connections from Albany
I was so completely stunned when you came into Starbucks and handed me a folder of my papers that had blown all over the parking lot this morning that I didn’t have the ability to be as gracious or charming as I would have liked to be. Honestly, when I watched all of my stuff spill out in the parking lot and blow all the way to Chipoltle in SECONDS, I wasn’t even gonna try… figured I would balance my litter karma and pick up some trash another time š and even if some of those papers included my name, business cards, ehhh… well. we’ll see how that comes back to me!
What you did was really kind, to me and the environment. It changed my day, and every person I have told about you since has remarked about what an unusual, lovely, and chivalrous thing you did. Just so you know- it really stands out. People don’t act like that. And when they do? Well, it changes things.
Thank you so much. You should let me buy you coffee or pick up trash on your road. And if you don’t see this or I don’t see you again, I will be sure to pay it forward and also be more mindful of my belongings on blustery days.
Her Two Cents
My street has an overabundance of litter. It’s long and residential and the section I live on has a few tight s-curves and naturally occurring hilly conditions. There are fewer houses and lots more green growth which has escaped the care of whatever municipal office is responsible for such things. It’s also a popular cut through route from one large neighborhood to another. Regardless of how many people travel on it or who they are, I’m curious to know more about the profile of a person who has no qualms about ditching their trash in any place other than their own garbage bin. Perhaps it’s psychologically easier to throw fast food wrappers/bottles/bags/mysterious plastic pieces into the unchecked wild “nature” than it is to pitch them out a car window onto someone front lawn or sidewalk? I’d like to think that our attitudes about garbage and the environment have progressed somewhat since the 1960s (Does anyone remember the picnic scene from Mad Men where Don and Betty Draper shake the trash off their blanket into the park grass and then jump into their car? Yeah, the Keep America Beautiful Indian was crying there, too.) but maybe it’s just too easy to litter in areas that already have litter. What’s one more bottle/bag/wrapper, right? Would the trash continue to pile up if the area looked clean and maintained? Could this be the start of a one-person can make a difference trash patrol? I’ll let you know…
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