Dan Antion

One Man’s Trash – #SoCS

The perfect lime wedge.
I think MuMu want to sleep

It’s Saturday. David, Cheryl and I are at the bar, hoping to satisfy the requirement of Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, and score some bonus points! The prompt is twofold,

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘my.’ Start your post with the word ‘My.’ Bonus points if you end your post with ‘yours.’ Enjoy!”

If we were having a beer, we’d be halfway to those bonus points.

“My my, if it isn’t our favorite ersatz environmentalist.”

“Ersatz? David, doesn’t that mean fake?”

“Fake, or inferior, either will do.”

“What did I do to deserve that designation?”

“Your WATWB post from yesterday. Championing an alleged solution to the microplastic problem. Technology to the rescue…again.”

“Maybe it’s not a perfect cure David, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

“Dan, David, a step in the right direction would be if you two hens would order something to drink. Although, I’m not sure about tossing alcohol on this raging inferno.”

“Cheryl, give my young, albeit naive friend his cerveza de Mexico and set me up with a John Howell’s Special.”

“I take it that’s a Corona for Dan?”

“Yes, sorry, I thought he was going to see the Yardgoats again.”

“Well, it’s appropriate, our specials are Mexican today.”

“Los Chivios de Hartford played last week. They only play a few of those games each year. But back to the environment. What’s wrong with picking up plastic?”

“The problem Dan, isn’t plastic.”

“It isn’t? The article talked about eight million metric tons a year. You sure that isn’t a problem?”

“Here you go guys. Fuel for your mule, as it were.”

“Ah, Popeye, yes, Dan’s childhood hero if I recall.”

“And as Popeye would say, that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more! Is it international pick on Dan day?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. The problem isn’t plastics, the problem is people. Ignorant, selfish, ridiculously stupid people who throw stuff away because they’re too lazy to walk to one of a billion trash cans.”

“You have a point, David, but we’re never going to fix people.”

“No, you’re going to encourage them. ‘Go ahead, throw your crap on the beach, Wall-E and Eva’s offspring will sift it up while you sleep.’ That’s what they’re going to think when they see the BeBots roaming around.”

“Cheryl, can I have another beer? I’m having to wash down a lot of undeserved guff over here.”

“Sure Dan. Anything for you, David?”

“Do you have any nips?”

“John Howell’s Bourbon doesn’t cone in nips.”

“Anything will do, this is just for demonstration purposes.”

“Here, we send these out with to-go orders.”

“See this, Dan? The State of Connecticut added a ten-cent deposit on these bottles. Do you think that’s going to help?”

“No. I see those all over the park, David. Usually in close proximity to an orange juice bottle.”

“Left there, no doubt by a kid whose last thought on earth would be to take that home and toss it in his mom’s recycle bin.”

“True. I guess they’re thinking is that the people that collect cans will pick them up.”

“Dan, don’t you think there are better ways of helping the poor than creating more valuable litter.”

“Um, guys, It’s a surcharge, not a deposit. You don’t get it back.”

“So, there isn’t even any incentive for people to pick them up.” “Ok, David. You’ve made a litany of good points. What’s your solution?”

“We need smarter people.”

“Guys, working behind this bar as I do, I can tell you that that off-ramp isn’t on the human highway. Do you want any food?

“I’m sorry for picking on you Dan. This stuff makes me mad.”

“It’s ok, David. But speaking of picking, you’re picking up the tab. Pizza or tacos?”

“Dan, the choice is yours.”

Note: The photos in the gallery are watermarked with Faith’s name, but they are my photos. I clicked the wrong option. So much for the tech guy.

I had to take this through the windshield.
Up bunnyscope.
On my way to Hartford for a haircut, I faced this sky.
Two of my favorite buildings.
These guys usually slip under the dock.
Quite the wake
Moving out
I like the reflections in the water.
Not as much flooding after the hurricane as we had after the previous storm, but we’re still not getting on that dock.
The riverfront decks are under water.
“No Parking” – I think that goes without saying.
Hartford from Great River Park
Shrimp Enchiladas – these were very good
Quiet morning
MiMi is awake.
At 7:30 am, it was already too hot and buggy.

74 comments

  2. YES, we need smarter people all around. :-) As I do errands today, I will pass bright blue trash bags lining the road thanks to the many community volunteers who walk the highways and pick it up. My question always is – why does one person have to pick up another person’s trash. Carry in and Carry out, people. By the way, that meal looks outrageously good. Happy cool walking with Maddie this weekend.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • That’s what I don’t understand either, Judy. People could volunteer to do so many other things if they weren’t picking up trash someone could have easily carried to a trash can. On our walk today, I picked up a water bottle that was literally, two feet from a recycle bin. The bin has a lid, so it wasn’t that someone tossed it and missed, they just threw it on the ground.

      We enjoyed our walk. It is cooler, but still buggy. I hope you have a nice weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Thank you for a post that covered my whole week. I laughed out loud when I got to “smarter people.” People who want other people to clean up their messes are, as someone said once, too much with us. Then I think maybe they are the smart ones and I suspect I’m getting cynical. The photos are great — those reflections in the water are beauties. My favorite is the No Parking sign.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • If people were capable of understanding the cost of litter, Maureen, I don’t think they would do it. Especially when it’s so easy to find a trash can. I love the reflections in the river by that park. I used to stop there almost every day on my way to work. Now, it’s about once or twice a month when I’m in the area.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. I still see people toss stuff out their car window, and leave things on the table when the trash can is two feet away. What the heck??!! Smarter people….good luck with that. I didn’t realize David was such an environmentalist.
    Faith took all these photos? Nice! The bunny photos look like watercolor paintings–very pretty. Have a good weekend, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ugh, I used the wrong watermark. Oh well. I took the photos, I just tagged them incorrectly. I had the same thought about the bunny photos. That’s the photo-effect called “wet windshield” :)

      I told Judy, I picked up a water bottle that was literally, two feet from a recycle bin, this morning. The bin has a lid, so it wasn’t that someone tossed it and missed, they just threw it on the ground. No smarter people here.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Something ironically funny. Today is Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup in my neighborhood. Everyone can put all sorts of big-item trash on the street for free pick-up. We put a couple pieces of furniture on the street last night. This morning, someone added to the pile with an old printer and various bags of ‘stuff’—I didn’t open them up to see. They had to drag them from their house to mine….when their house was closer! Yup…’two fee from a recycle bin’ pertains even to trash pick-up on the street. heavy sigh

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

            • That is just the stupidest thing! Some people are just a little too self important.

              We have the opposite situation in our neighbourhood. Things put on the curb will likely be gone by morning. We are having our backyard redone this year and all the old patio stones were ripped up and put into a shallow dumpster at the front of the house. The next day our doorbell rang and it was a woman asking if they could salvage the stones. Her and her husband then proceeded to make at least a dozen trips filling the back of their car with our old patio stones.
              They were happy, our contractor was happy, and we were happy to know that they were being repurposed rather than going into a landfill. Win-win-win.

              Liked by 1 person

            • We have a problem here with metal. The town has a metal pickup once a month, but scavengers visit before the town. The problem is, they break things apart, taking the best pieces and leaving debris all over the sidewalk. The town has a metal-only dumpster at Public Works. I’ve been taking my waste metal there. More money for the town, less mess for me.

              Like

            • I don’t mind the scavengers, but what they are doing in your area is just wrong and inconsiderate. I despair sometimes that ‘inconsiderate’ has become the default mode for most people 🙁

              Like

  6. I’m all in for tacos! I grew up with tacos (living on the Mexican border) and enjoy them still. Your photos are particularly beautiful today, Dan. I love love the shot of MiMi — you’ve captured her sweetness. Have a wonderful day!! 🌞

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Gwen. In recent years, I’ve nearly become addicted to fish tacos. When I was traveling, seeing a sign for Breakfast Tacos always made me smile. MiMi says, “when you have a good subject, you’re going to get a good picture – you’re welcome.”

      Like

      Reply

  7. Smarter people…ummm, okay. I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, so I shouldn’t snark on anyone, but the idiocy I’ve seen the last 18 months from humans is beyond comprehension. I don’t know how that is fixed other than education or a vaccine.

    Wait…scrub that last idea, the part about a vaccine…

    Anyhow, I think all we can do, Dan, is be good people ourselves and have an impact on others who may need some guidance or love. We may also need a large group of hippies with “Unite, don’t divide” and “Get the damn vaccine” and “Love your planet, pick up the trash” signs roaming the countryside.

    Love, peace, and have a beer, my friend.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • We tried the hippies, Mary, and I thought we made progress on the issue of litter. Remember “Don’t Be a Litterbug” ?

      You’re right, of course, we should focus on setting an example. I pick up after Maddie when we walk, and I shake my head at others who don’t. They are a minority here, but…

      I’ll have that beer later today. Maybe I’ll see if I have a tie-dyed shirt to wear ;-)

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    • Thanks Maggie. I remember picking up those bottles as well. I’m glad you like those photos because, I can’t resist taking them when I’m there and the sun id at the right point.

      Like

      Reply

  9. Interesting topic and discussion. Thank you for championing one solution. We can’t fix everybody, but I believe some people can be influenced to recycle and put their trash where it belongs. I’m not normally into shaming, but maybe something like, Don’t be trashy, clean up your mess! There will always be a few people who want to be trashy, but maybe we can get some to grow up. I enjoyed the photos, especially that sunrise, the furbabies, and no parking!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks JoAnna. I’m not normally into shaming, either, but litter really bothers me. There’s no justification for it. There are trashcans everywhere. The disrespect is total, and I think people who litter are fare game for shame.

      I’m glad you like the pictures. I hope you have a good weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. What’s up with MiMi being wide awake and MuMu wanting to sleep?! Great gallery. Really love the bunny shots, the river reflections, and that beautiful morning sky. The “no parking” is a real eye opener! Lol!

    You know I’m with David 💯 %. The slobs that think the whole world is their private trash can make me sick. In this day and age with such advanced technology, and we still can’t fix stupidity, or laziness, or lack of respect for anyone else or property, private or public. What a disgrace we humans are that we can’t get our act together and clean up after ourselves.
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Well put, Ginger!!!

      Every now and then, the girls like to mix it up. I’m glad you liked the photos in the gallery today. The bunny pictures were taken through a wet windshield, but I like the effect.

      I picked up a water bottle this morning on our walk, that was less than two feet from the trash bin. I so wish I could tell who left it.

      I hope you have a nice weekend, Ginger!

      Like

      Reply

  15. “I can tell you that that off-ramp isn’t on the human highway.” LOL! I love this line!

    I think there’s always going to be people who litter, sadly.

    I enjoyed seeing the river park in the morning light and skyline. It’s so pretty.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Deborah. I’m glad I could make you smile.

      I miss stopping at that park so I was so glad to see it was open after the hurricane.

      I guess we’re stuck with people who litter. I don’t get it, but…

      Like

      Reply

  20. I enjoyed the photos no matter who took them, especially the “No parking” one. :-) Although I agree that people are the problem, it’s a qualified agreement because even though we never throw away plastic, there are many places that don’t recycle it, so although it’s not getting into the water or a similar place, it’s not being recycled either and just sits in a dump somewhere. Because it’s not economically feasible anymore, our city just stopped taking any plastics except #1 and #2 (sounds like some sort of elimination joke) that aren’t bottle/jugs/jars. So no plastic containers for berries and such. They’re also not taking glass, of all things, and it just kills me to throw glass into the garbage! Someone has either find ways to reuse some of these things or some sort of containers that biodegrade/whatever (and of course even biodegradables don’t degrade when in plastic bags.) Sigh. Cheerful comment, eh?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I think those things are coming. There’s a company in Maine (maybe NH) that is making landscape ties out of shredded plastic bags. Glass really should be an easy sell, it’s easily recycled. As far as I know, the problem is that it breaks and is hard to separate from other material. It is a complicated problem, but even if it’s in a landfill, it’s not on the beach, or in the park causing problems for people and animals.

      I appreciate your thoughtful comment, Janet. It isn’t easy.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. I liked that “it’s a surcharge, not a deposit.” We never get it back, not even once. I don’t know where the recycled stuff goes. For trash, as big as couches, dressers, it goes to a landfill on a hill.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. David isn’t entirely wrong, Dan, in that the problem isn’t plastic, it’s people. We have been conditioned to be consumers to make big companies rich. I remember when my boys were young, the money that was spent on plastic junk for parties. Thirty plastic party packs, thirty times however many little pieces of plastic stuff that the kids would use for 10 minutes and then throw away, plastic bottles and juice containers, plastic plates, plastic table cloths. I never did this. My dad made overlays for our two tables from fabric and we used them over again. I washed the plates and cups, they were plastic, but we still have them 15 years later. I’m not judging people, as they are conditioned to this behaviour, but it is a societal issue. The robots are better than nothing and might help save our oceans.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • The trash leftover after parties I’d incredible, Robbie. We tried to avoid stuff like that. We used cloth diapers for as long as we could. But it’s hard to avoid some “packs” when the price difference is so extreme compared to individual items. Even for hardware and tools, it’s often cheaper to buy a kit than an individual tool or item. It will take a concerted effort to change, and the whole world has to change now that were are one economy.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. There are a few things that people do that is hard to put up with. Like people who march around protesting about having to get vaccinated and wear masks. Great photos. The one with the No Parking sign under water is great. Animals and water and always great to look at.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. pretty pictures of the buildings and the sky. My uncle used to recycle so he can use the dump at a recycling center. My mother wanted us to keep doing it, but she often forgets about going and gets off too late to go. Right now we can’t use my uncle’s truck to take the recycling stuff so it has been put on hold for a while.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. I love how you add humor to a strong argument. Is it plastic or people? It’s both. The photo of your two favorite buildings is spectacular, with the color reflections in the water. Even the boat is perfectly centered!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Your two favorite buildings just under a canopy of dusk — Lovely! Then also the view as you pass for a haircut — Lovely!
    Please ask them to deliver the smarter people in biodegradable packaging, kthxbai :)

    Like

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.