I love walking long distances. It's the freedom and the ability of movement I enjoy the most, as well as taking in my surroundings. I didn't want to take a train one Sunday to Whole Foods from my house- if you live or know anything about NYC subways on a weekend, you'd feel the same. So I decided to walk the 13.2 miles. For reference I live in the Bronx and the Whole Foods I went to is on the Upper West Side. So I packed my book bag and went for it. The day was beautiful, I stopped and took pictures along my journey and of course the people watching was at it's prime (summers in NYC totally bring out the buffoonery in people).
On my way, I became hyper aware of my surroundings, noticing the black worn in dots on the ground from gum and garbage everywhere. It started driving me crazy. I couldn't walk an inch without stepping over a napkin, a wrapper from some food, a cup, broken glass, etc. My mind started to wonder why anyone would want to live in this? As a business along the street, why would you want all of this garbage that leads into your store or along the path? Is it because we live in NYC and people have become so jaded that no one cares? As if walking to the corner to dump your garbage is a nuisance. Fed up, I decided to do something about it and contact the department of sanitation for NYC about the areas. So far I have received no response even after my follow up emails to them, but I'm very persistent and will keep at it.
Even in our apartment building garbage is an issue. There’s chutes on every floor and if what you have is too large, you bring it to the basement and place it in the specified section for the super to take out. Yet, there's so many people who would rather leave their garbage outside of the chute doors or piled inside of the chute closet instead of opening and dumping it or bringing it to the basement. I'm thankful we don't live near that side of the building where the chute is located, but I feel sorry for who does.
It's sad to know that some people within the community we live in, won't take care of what's theirs/ours. Why would anyone want to walk along in trash or have their kids play on dirty sidewalks and parks or even allow it to pile up in their building? When you see people littering, tell them to throw their garbage in the garbage cans, hence the name. We need to take care of every aspect of ourselves and that especially includes our living spaces.
Do any of you have similar experiences? If so, what did you or what are are you doing to make a positive impact? Drop a line in the comment section and let me know!
If you see a can...put your garbage in it and tell a friend to tell a friend.