Two Pieces of Trash

As a 5 year old, itching to get to the pool, bound by the back seat of an '89 Mustang, I would get mega-annoyed by my mother's constant stopping to pick up "just one more piece of trash." I couldn't understand why she would pick up one piece of trash, let alone many pieces, or even, every piece she saw.

Twenty years later, I find myself unconsciously picking up trash. Be it on the streets of Washington DC, along a hiking trail, or in the muddy sand of Driftwood Beach, I can't stand the look of garbage on the ground. If I keep on walking, that Catholic guilt that I have been working so hard to get rid of cuts a hole right into my stomach.

The problem here is that once you start picking up trash, when do you stop? Is every day going to be a trash clean up service project? That would turn just about every place you go into a chore.

So as not to pick up trash all day everyday, I have made a goal to pick up and throw away 2 pieces every time I am at the beach (which is every day). This won't make much impact by myself, but if everyone made sure to pick up just 2 pieces of trash every time they went to the beach, we'd surely have clean beaches someday.

This is no Mike Donohoe original, but it's an idea worth spreading.

Happy World Oceans Day!

http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/