Earth Day – an excerpt from my first novel, The Aftermath

Hey Bert, I awoke this morning feeling an incredible amount of anger. Inappropriately directed, I'm sure. Immediately recalled hiking along a country road north of Cassie's place. Middle of nowhere country. Late September, beautiful, warm, sunny fall day. Whole forest canopy crimson and gold, contrasting with the green of the conifers. Suddenly I'm struck by the amount of litter in the ditches, both sides of the road. All seems bloody obsessive in retrospect. But I'll tell you anyway.

I paced out a two kilometre stretch, counting everything I found. Spent at least an hour. Twelve cars passed me. So, today I awake with that itemized list in my head. Sixty-three pieces of detritus. Three whisky bottles, empty of course. Six beer bottles or cans. Thirty-five Tim Hortons coffee cups, some fresh, some weathered. Nineteen McDonalds drink cups or coffee cups. Tim beats Mickey D almost two to one. But what appals me, the third place finisher, water bottles. Then a variety of Coke and Pepsi bottles and cans, almost five to one Pepsi over Coke. If I had internet time available I'd probably check comparative sales figures. I'm not alarmed to remember these details but I'm incensed about water bottles.

Remember meetings we went to in the seventies? Ice water in pitchers and glasses at strategic spots along the table. A few brought their own bottled water. We regarded them as left-wingers or out and out nutsies. How ironic water bottles should become such a pollutant.

Next I decided to produce a litter index. You know, fifteen point seven five litter items per kilometre or something like that. Could then define acceptable limits. I had to stop there and take a shower so I'd be on time for my appointment with my psychiatrist.
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Combination of things upset me. We saw litter along roadsides in Kosova. But there was neither infrastructure nor municipal services at the time. Very frustrating. But, you know, as services became available and personal pride was restored, littering diminished rapidly. Best to you, Tom