The Great Non-Cleanup

Several weeks ago, we got a flyer in the door. It was advertising a cleanup of our block for the Great American Cleanup supposedly part of the Keep America Beautiful program that was to have happened on Earth Day (4/22) with a rain date of Saturday. My husband and I work very hard to keep the litter at bay on our property and there are some like minded people, but by and large most people on the block are pretty oblivious to the litter on their yards. As such, we when we got this flyer we were immediately skeptical of the intentions.

He placed a call to the phone number on the flyer and was told that the cleanup was being organized by the mother who lives in Philadelphia of a woman who lives across the street. Ironically enough the woman across the street is in one of the worst kept homes on the block. My husband indicated that Friday was a workday for him (which it turned out not to be) and it was not likely that we would be able to participate, to which the woman remarked, “well maybe next year”. Maybe next year?

Saturday weather was good and we glanced out the front door at varying intervals and saw about two people putting some leaves in a bag. They did police up some of the trash, but generally we saw no change on the block otherwise.

The thing about cleanups is that they have to be done every day. That is one of the responsibilities of home ownership.  Why wait until you need a dumpster to be brought over to the block when you can clean up a few candy wrappers or paper plates that irresponsible people just drop as they walk down the street when it happens? Oh, that’s right. I forgot. People don’t know how to bend over.