Blast Me Past

On Earth Day this year I had every intention of posting a story regarding recycling that I wrote almost twenty years ago and discovered while going through old journals a few months ago. Instead, I spent more time walking to and from, ironically enough, the car dealer. My 30k service was due and the appointment just happened to fall on Earth Day which was cool because even though I could have called numerous family members to pick me up, walking seemed like the right way to get back home. Since quitting smoking I have been getting up earlier so I dropped the car at 7:30 and headed home. They called at noon to say it was done but Matt and I decided we both needed the exercise so we walked up together late afternoon before heading to the beach for dinner.


At Revere Beach there is really only one place to eat (in my mind, even though there are numerous choices) Bianchi’s Pizza. The pizza is so good that the only way to describe it is to say they must put crack in the sauce because we used to drive up there on weekends from Long Island specifically to get a pizza (Note: I know that is not very Earth friendly but luckily those days are over now, sorry planet!). I have been going there for many years and know the drill on a really warm night – call it in. It was in the high eighties so I knew there would be a line. Thinking twenty minutes would be sufficient, Matt called (because I was driving and we all know my rules of the road) and they told him it would be a forty minute wait. I am telling you, it is the best pizza in Boston. We got there faster than expected so we parked about five blocks away to enjoy the stroll up to the line about thirty deep. I will not go into the details of the endorphin rush that came while eating but suffice to say the entire roof of my mouth is peeling today from the inability to wait for it to cool off. Walking back to the car I noticed how different the beach is now.

Recently the entire area was revitalized to detract from the trashy element that had moved in and re-attract families to purchase condos in this “sketchy” waterfront local. The sidewalk had been widened replacing the angled parking that was responsible for many a blind spot fender bender. One of the best things they kept in the revitalization was the trash cans along the boulevard. Most people use them too which is great because they assist in eliminating trash from the street & sidewalk. Perhaps because it was Earth Day I suddenly noticed there are no recycling bins on Revere Beach and the trash cans were over stuffed with Poland Spring bottles. This made me think back to my little story about recycling as well as prompted us to take our extra paper plates, napkins & bottles back to the car with us to recycle at home. Here is my story unaltered from its inception; I am not sure of the actual date but I was not yet hand writing in all caps so it is around 1989.

"Everyone should recycle whatever they can because the world is in jeapordy. In this day and age the term “every man for himself” has never been more true. Recycling takes time out of our busy days. To get to recycling posts takes so much time, its easier to throw it out. Also to have a recycling truck pick up the trash, instead of dropping it off, takes $ out of the town’s people’s taxes. Finally no one likes to recycle because they are so sick of hearing that word or seeing the triangular symbol and decide not to.

The ammount of time it takes for a person to drive, or walk saving gas, to a post is not much. Most posts in the towns are w/in walking distance of each’s home. Is 10 minutes time too much to help save the very ground we walk on or water to drink? Prob. not. The trucks that come by take up even less time and the $ spent to rent the truck in my town is aproxametly ¢.06 per person in the town. Six cents is a small ammount out of a one month period. That only averages out to ¢.72 a year. That’s less than a cup of coffee costs, which most people get one of day to day. Being sick of the word recycle is natural since its used a lot. So why not use another word like reuse or return to something we’re able to use again. The other option of course is not to say it at all but just do it!

Recycling is an all around good idea. The trash prob. in this country is increasing rapidly and the only way to keep it down is to recycle or use products with biodegradable incasing. Why can’t we use the same paper cup when we have 2 or 3 things to drink in the hour? Using cloth shopping bags or paper at the supermarket is even a good way to keep it down and that’s not a very hard thing to request.

On the whole I can understand the opinions of people saying “Oh its only one gum wrapper.” However one gum wrapper for every person in this world would mean close to a billion gum wrappers. The bottom line is don’t litter and conserve where you can. Most especially however, take the 10 minutes to recycle what you can."

Al Gore, eat your heart out.

As a way to cap off my “day late” post about Earth Day I am going to respond to the tag that Chris placed on me. I wanted my other blog to breathe for a few days but I promised I would do this so here it is (sorry to say I am not perpetuating the tag, it dies here).

Fives:

Five years ago I was

1. Almost 30
2. Doing home improvement

3. Just a little less awesome than I am now

4. In school
5. Still smoking

Five snacks I enjoy

1. Chips & dip
2. Saltines & butter
3. Bananas & peanut butter

4. Oreos & milk
5. Chocolate & chocolate

If I was a billionaire I would

1. Pay my bills on time (hopefully)

2. Travel a lot more (likely for my job)

3. Get an unlisted number

4. Mysteriously become more attractive to guys who picked on me in school

5. Try to be thankful for all that I have & give back as much as possible

Some Jobs I have had

1. Office Bitch
2. Faux Finisher
3. Plastics dealer
4. Actress (just once, that was enough for me)

5. Retail Whore

Different Places I have lived

1. MA

2. NH

3. NY

4. MA
5. MA…MA…MA…MA…MA…

Five Lies
1. I wanted to answer this question.
2. My trip to Chile was the most amazing experience of my life.
3. I am really a very quiet person.
4. Skiing is the best.
5. I didn’t inhale.

On a final note I will suggest we all make a conscious effort to pay attention to our big ball of green and blue everyday and not just on the day they tell us to. Recycle. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Buy cloth towels instead of paper. Open curtains for light and windows for airflow. Walk. Stop spending money on cheap crap that breaks after two uses creating a cycle to buy more cheap crap.