A few days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with my 7-year-old on our way to summer camp. The conversation began as we pulled out of our driveway and he noticed trash thrown on our grass. He asked, “Mama, why do people throw trash in other peoples yard?”

I told him that people who do this are lazy and not smart enough to carry a trash bag in their vehicle. As we continued on our drive, there was more and more trash on the streets of our pretty city. My son would point out trash and say each time, “Mama, another person is not smart!” When we reached our destination, this seven-year old-child asked, “Mama, why are there so many lazy and not smart people in Andalusia? Why do they make everything look bad?”

Sadly, I could not answer my child’s questions. I simply do not know why, or relate to, the lack of mental faculties that causes a person to litter. I don’t understand why anyone in our modern age, is not smart enough to carry a bag, for litter, in their vehicle. I do not know why a citizen would not have a sense of pride in their surroundings. I then asked my child if he would like to spend an hour picking up trash that has been tossed out. His answer was mind boggling. He asked, “How would that teach them a lesson?”

Touche`.

I see trash being tossed from a vehicle, every single day that I am driving in Andalusia. I wish citizens had a way to help teach the litterbugs a well deserved lesson. Even a seven-year-old understands that, cleaning up after a person who litters does nothing to teach them a better way! It only takes a second to place litter in a bag and keep in your vehicle until you can toss the bag into trash receptacles, located throughout the city. I’ll wager, dollars to doughnuts, the litterbug is not trying to keep their car tidy. I have a strong feeling their car is a pigsty, as is their home. Decent, upstanding people don’t litter!

 

Amelia Klosowsky

Andalusia, Alabama