One small step for recycling.....

Sometimes it seems as if we can't win in this world no matter how much we care or want to make things better. I feel this especially when it comes to recycling. Most people act as if recycling takes so much effort they would never be able to achieve it. That changing that small habit of just chucking whatever they use in the garbage would be harder then landing on the moon. My work has been a classic example. I put out recycling bins for all the employee's to put plastic, glass, and aluminum items into. Some co-workers have used the bins daily, while others think it is nothing more then another garbage can.

I guess we all feel we have a windmill to conquer and mine is making people look at how they dispose of their waste. If they take the time to separate out their whites when they do laundry, why can't they separate out their trash? So, no longer wanting to be on the side line of this issue, I started looking places that I use frequently to see what they had in place for a recycling program. The first place that came to mind is the gym I work at. While running one night I observed a guy buy three water bottles and drink them all in an hours time, then through them into the trash. I then watched the employee come around and collect the trash for the evening. I realized at that moment I needed to speak up. To help people make see a different choice.

I should state that I'm not a pushy person. In fact I'd say I'm a pacifist most of the time. Some issues though I just can't said by. I felt that by being a member of the gym I would not be out of line to see if the owner would like to provide a place for its patrons to recycle items. So, off I went and wrote an email to the owner.

Two days later I received a very positive reply. She thanked me for my email, and said she would love to do that, but stated some logistical issues that had to be worked out first before something like that could be done. Where would the bin go so that it would not be a hazard? Where would the recycling go till it was picked up? They were short on storage and didn't really have any place to put it. Who would be in charge of emptying it? She assured me that they would figure something out. I thanked her for being so positive and went off thinking that it would be to much hassle for them. Again, I felt I hadn't made a change. My windmill still stood proudly defying me.

A week passed by where I had little time for the gym due to school and work. Then last Thursday I went to the gym. I walked in as normal and went to the machine I usually use. As I started my work out something by the back of the gym caught my eye. I looked over and there sat a beautiful little bit with a big recycling sign on it and above it on the wall. It had worked! There was a bin at the gym! I walked over and there were already 4 water bottles in it!! I almost did a little girl skip across the gym in my excitement. Now not only myself, but other had the option it not fill out land and ocean with plastic.

As I drove home I smiled with the knowledge of what had changed. I then I wondered, "am I just patting myself on the back?" Had I not been the only one to mention it to the owner? Would they put one out eventually even if I had never said anything? Hmmm, questions I guess we all ask ourselves. How much do we really change the world around us?

Small town

In my life I’ve lived in or by many towns of various size. I’ve gone from the extreme of living near a town of 50 people to living in the middle of a city of 4.3 million. In these vast extremes of population I learned a lot about what makes a town worth living in and by these lessons I have found that living in a small town can be both a blessing and a curse.

The other day I asked myself why had I predominately lived in small towns. Well, the first part of my life that was an easy answer. I lived where my parents lived and Dad has never been a fan of large crowds of people. I think that the farmer in him was raised hearing the winds blow through the corn and not the drown of city traffic. As a general rule, most of us follow the example our parents set, but many of us run off to the big city and never want to leave. My sister for example loves the big city and would never live in something less then a million people. So, why have I picked small towns.

Working at an employment agency has afforded me a view of small towns that most people of wealthy or upper middle class don’t get to see. Being raised in middle class my parents sheltered me from the pit falls of small town life. Most of the people I see pass through the door each day at our office have never felt they could leave the poverty they were born into or had any options of that changing. Their vocabulary is simple and full of slang. Most don’t know what a regular shower is or what its like to sleep in a home free from drama and violence. These people are easily swayed by popular culture and listen to anyone that tells them life is better if you vote for this person. Most have barley finished high school. Some will see a little bit of community college, but they won’t make a career out of it. They are hard working and yet somehow pretend that excepting nothing better in life is ok with them.

With this type of community things change very slowly in small towns. Only the forward thinking leadership of some small town governments rise to make their community better, but most get stuck in arguments and petty details. This creates a feeling of hopelessness for each person that lives in these towns. If things don’t improve around them why should they? What a vicious circle. In larger city’s there are development committees, art associations, social services, outreach programs and various other organizations. This is not to say that large cities don’t have their poverty stricken areas or challenging issues with community development, but they seem to have more hope for change.

So with both a social and economic disillusion in poor rural communities why do people move there from larger cities? From the small amount I’ve talked to the reasons vary greatly. Most want to be in the country with nature surrounding them, some can’t take that amount of humanity in one place, and others simple want to return to a place where they grew up in simpler times. Each person finds that one thing that I have to come to love as well. Small town charm. Sure the community progress is lacking, shopping can be not much above necessities, but there’s something about living in a place where you drive down the road and recognize the people on the street. You run into the store and see a friend to say hello. You walk into the library and the librarian knows you buy name. You go to the coffee shop and they already know what you want to drink.

The other day I realized why I like living in small communities and what inspired this blog. Everyday on my way to work there is an old man who walks his dog. Everyday he has on the same type of cloths. Jeans, leather vest, wool jacket with a black rain poncho over it. He’s wearing a brown leather hat that has so many pins stuck on it you can hardly see the hat. In his hand is an amazing walking stick. There are so many things attached to it I can’t even begin to know whats on there. At the top of the stick flies two American flags. The crowning gem of this amazing sector. The beautiful part of this whole experience is that he waves at every person that walks or drives by. Everyone waves back with a smile or a thumbs up. Somehow that simple gesture makes someone feel like they are home. It doesn't matter what town in America, just as long as someone is willing to waive at you and say hello. In small towns you have a better chance at that. A better chance of feeling at home.

We screwed up big time....

Yesterday I was reading some articles that had been posted on Facebook. One article made me come to a screeching halt. Everyone knows about the horrific oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The "official" estimates was that it was leaking 5,000 barrels of oil into the gulf a day. They just found out they were wrong. Its now much worse at 70,000 barrels per day! WHAT!!! My heart is so heavy from this terrible thing that has been done to nature!

I think of us like addicts. We are addicted to oil. Its not just the US, but the whole world. We are junkies who must have a constant fix or we don't know what to do with ourselves. I knew a family who had an uncle who had a serious drug problem. Not only did it end in his demise, but he brought down almost the entire family with him! In our addiction we have become reckless and no longer care that if something horrible happens we really don't have a way to stop it. We are so consumed with our next fix to not see the amazing, pristine world around us that we are destroying. We have launched thousands of anti drug programs, spent millions of dollars on preventing drugs from entering our country, and yet our worst addition grows and grows.

I guess when I look at our society I have labeled it the "H & W" society. People only want to see what they "have" to, and see only what they "want" to. There are a few bright shinning stars who care to think beyond our next fix, and to help cure this addiction in any way we can. But we are so surrounded by this phenomenon that we must change our entire lifestyle to have any hope.

Hope is what I keep in my back pocket, and hold onto when everything looks grim. I have always been a pessimist. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm cursed or blessed by being this way. I keep hoping that enough disasters like this one will teach us something, and start to turn the tide. But I also know that this age must end, and it won't end in a good way. Still I won't give up.

Peace,

Heather

Good/Bad.....

Today was a good day. Today was a bad day. Gosh, that sounds like the start to a bad Robin Masters book(thats for all your Magnum P.I. fans out there). It was good because my little corner of the world is pretty hard to beat! Well, for the most part. My work load is ever changing. I think I've got it all completed and off my desk, then whamo(did I just make that word up?), more work happens! Now I want state that I am very grateful for my job, and for the most part enjoy the office I work in. Its laid back, positive, and I pretty must do as I wish. But, there are some of us who always seem to want more from life.....

Ok, the topic I wanted to really speak on is this horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As it is 10pm, I'll turn my thoughts over in my head tonight, and finish my ranting in the AM.

Night!

Well, here sits my blog site. I think I started this account over two years ago and never posted anything. Am I a failure at blogging? Yes. But not a writing thankfully! I've posted many of my thoughts over the last year on a wonderful site called Author Nation. Check out my page:

http://www.authornation.com/turtleloveforever

I was introduced to this site by Tyler, and now I check it several times a day to see who is reading what I've wrote. I've so far just written poetry, but I'd like to start writing short stories and maybe some book reviews.
In writing I have found a way to express words and thoughts I just can't seem to get out verbally. For some people I've known verbalizing thoughts is like breathing. Its second nature to just express what you think or feel. For others like me we struggle to find words that really match how we feel and what thoughts run across our mind. Do we maybe feel more or think more then other people? Do we just have a handicap that we must overcome? Are we just unwilling in our subconscious to communicate the way society deems correct? Well, I could go on and on with guesses, but that still doesn't change the fact that for some of us writing is just so much easier then speaking our thoughts.
So, with this blog I am going to try to put down on paper(or electronic paper) what runs through my crazy head. I'll hopefully add a picture or two when I can. I guess I'll treat this as an experiment. I've tried several times over my life to keep a regular journal and never seem to get more then a few entries. So, I'll try it on blogger and see if its easier for me to keep up!

:D
Heather