I do what I can to be a good neighbor, but the truth is I clean my street about every other weekend for selfish purposes - I like living on a clean street. I have a few neighbors who assist in those efforts, but the task of cleaning up potato chip bags, Starbucks cups, and take-out menus that never made it past the front door usually falls on me. I don't mind. I like being outside and the sense of gratification that comes with seeing a block go from filthy to clean in 45 minutes with a broom, dustpan and garbage bag.
This past weekend I undertook my familiar routine of starting down the block closest to my house, ending up at the far end, and finding myself being sucked around the corner by the constant stream of garbage. One more bottle, a broken kitchen counter, how about a wet phone book? What people decide to toss on the ground never ceases to amaze me. I am short on time, so I end my efforts with a sigh and a construction-grade bag just light enough for me to slowly drag back to my house. I go home, complain to my wife about the variety of trash and head to the shower.
While throwing on my clothes, I take a glance out of our second floor window to derive some personal satisfaction from a clean street I made possible. Directly across the street sits another bleeping potato chip bag and a plastic soda bottle. I get dressed, walk outside and go down the street. Unbelievably, the unoccupied corner where I just spent additional effort to clean somebody's week's worth of unbagged garbage sat a stained mattress. In the fifteen minutes it took me to take a shower and get dressed my block had reverted back to a dumping ground. What am I doing wrong and why are people deliberately destroying my attempt at creating self worth?
-Will, Fairmount
