Ever been out walking your dog, and either they "take care of business" more times than you have bags? Or, if you think "Hey, Snuggles just went #2, there's no chance he'll need to go on this walk...", but he inevitably does?
One nice thing about living in Cole, is that when you're in a pinch like this, there inevitably is a plastic bag (or "ghetto tumbleweed" as my neighbor so cleverly called 'em) blowing by.
Black ones come from the liquor store on Bruce Randolph and Downing, and are most prevalent for obvious reasons. White ones come from the Down-n-Out Super. Regardless of what color they are they certainly come in handy.
Like getting water from an Agave plant in the blistering heat of the desert; or finding a wild blackberry bush while starving in the sticks, Ghetto Tumbleweeds can be quite the life saver. I wouldn't put them on my list of things I'm most excited about in Cole, but they serve their purpose.
Guess we owe a hearty "thank you" to all those litter-bugs out there.
4 comments:
They are also handy for collecting the trash that blows down the street. But seriously what it with the littering in this neighborhood? The other month I watched a young girl get out of a car and throw a plastic bottle in our yard. I immediately retrieved it for her and gave her the stink-eye. Then just last week I saw someone open their car door and gently place a cup of water in the street. Why not just dump the water and keep the cup?! I've lived in other big cities too, I know there's going to be trash. But this just seems to be on a whole other level. Maybe it's just me.....
Thanks for reading--No, it's not just you. I think the reason for the trash is simple--Littering is a behavior learned from years of doing so, without anyone complaining or scolding them. Additionally, once trash and graffiti takes hold, it just builds on itself. Be sure to see this post:
http://coleneighborhood.blogspot.com/2008/11/los-angeles-times-graffiti-study.html
I've seen first-hand that people that normally litter, begin to become less likely to do so after seeing myself and other neighbors cleaning up our block. In other words, they're being re-conditioned to the more appropriate social norm where littering isn't acceptable.
But it's an uphill battle, and some folks never get it--And clearly take zero pride in where they live.
The thing I really don't understand is the dirty diapers. Cheeto bags and soda bottles, those are stupid kids that don't know any better. But the dirty diapers you find all over the neighborhood? Those are left by people at least mature enough to reproduce (though in this neighborhood, that could still be kids). But it's disgusting. I don't know why anyone would think it's OK to leave a dirty diaper on the sidewalk for someone else to pick up.
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