Earth Day Eye Opener

This morning I was running on the Constitution Trail about 5:30 AM, when I came across an older man that I frequently encounter on the trail. Typically he is slowly walking along, carrying a small plastic garbage bag, gathering assorted trash from the trailside and depositing it into the garbage bag. No piece of trash is too small to escape his careful scanning of the ground - paper cups, discarded plastic bottles, small bits of paper or plastic, cigarette butts, he indiscriminately picks up each and every item that he encounters. Generally I murmur a pleasant "Good morning" and thank him for his diligent environmental efforts. He keeps the trail beautiful for all of us who enjoy it on a regular basis.

And then I go along my way, rationalizing to myself that I am running, whereas he is walking. Naturally he has the time to pick up trash as he goes along. I also convince myself that it gives him something to do while he is out walking. After all, he's not going that fast. He's just walking.

Something interesting happened this morning. He was running. His pace was much faster than I would have expected. He was moving right along. And then.... he suddenly veered off in pursuit of an almost overlooked piece of trash. Then I noticed that both of his hands were filled with the pieces of trailside litter he had collected during his run.

As I pulled up alongside him, I said my usual "Good morning", thanked him for his unwavering care for the environment. And then I told him that I intended to collect at least three pieces of litter every time I run on the trail. I also told him that I would challenge other runners I know to do the same. Three small pieces of litter - that won't slow us down much. It won't take that long.

Off I scurried down the trail towards the road that would take me back to my car. As I ran along, I quickly spotted and picked up my promised three pieces of trash. Lesson #1 - try not to select a 32 oz. empty glass bottle as one of the items - it becomes quite heavy rather quickly. I suppose it also might not have been the safest option to carry a glass bottle while running. Most of all I know that neither of those two things would have entered the mind of my environmentalist friend - he would have quietly gone about doing what he does to take care of our earth.

I wondered to myself what his thoughts were regarding yesterday (April 22nd) which was Earth Day. He celebrates Earth Day each and every day. We should all do the same.

I'll let you know how my promise comes along. Will I eventually forget my promise? Will it become too burdensome? Too much trouble?

If you happen to see me out and about running on the trail and if I don't already have three pieces of litter in my hands, ask me about it. Hopefully, my answer is either that I have already collected and deposited my three items in a trash can, or I've just started my run.

We all live on this earth. We can all do our small part.