The Little Prince

The doorbell rang on Saturday at around 3pm. I expected a teenager requesting that I buy magazine subscriptions that I don't need but that would, nonetheless, hurtle him towards success or somebody else on a mission from God looking to hurtle me towards the same.

It was not. It was Roq (or Rock...I'm not sure).

The new boy next door stood there with a popsicle in one hand and kicking at the ground to assuage his slight fear. He asked me if I had any kids and explained that he was new to this area and didn't really have any friends. I asked him his name, told him mine, and shook his hand and told him that although we did not have children, we may be expecting some within the year. His eyes flared and his popsicle dripped as he considered the prospect. He then innocently requested, "When they turn ten, let me know."

One day later, I'm at work, and I overhear a conversation among a frustrated new bicycle owner and two of my co-workers. The rear wheel was not being engaged by the turn of the cranks. It simply made a pathetic clunking noise, as if a piece inside the hub was just broken in half or something. After the other two made a case for responding to the situation, his anger remained. He continued, for a few more minutes, to vent fumes that suggested we had intentionally screwed him. It turns out, he had been told to bring it in and that we would take care of it. Unfortunately, the person with which he had spoken, even had he been around today, underestimated the situation and led him to believe it was a "turn of the wrench" kind-of-thing. It was not, and we aren't going to waste the time trying to fix what should be warrantied, besides.

Although such passing of the buck happens more than one would like in life, it is rare that one later gets a phone call from the irate person apologizing for tearing ass while in the shop. He explained that we were inappropriate targets for his griping and that the individual that had led him to believe things were ship-shape had done us wrong.

There is hope, friends. There is hope.

The pictures are from Caw Caw, but I will add more, soon, as I've just been hired to do some contract work rewriting a marsh program for Drayton Hall Plantation. I'll be taking the camera with me, out there, looking to get some shots that I can incorporate in the program materials or in other literature they produce in the future. Visiting there the other day was yet another reminder of how much I miss educating.

Why I Love and Hate South Carolina

The image sums it all up. If the sofa had been a glass bottle or a cardboard box or any number of other things that would have a negligible impact on the water, air, and soil health of the forest and might even benefit the local organisms in some way, then I would not have even taken the picture. As I saw it, however, there sat the flame-retardant-impregnated, carcinogenic bomb amidst pale angels of the hydrostatic layer. It lay in such a place that suggested its former owners were intent on making a statement that trumpeted their opposition to all-things-considerate. While their ancestors and neighbors would have at least found a hidden stretch of road or dead end, these brazen folk proclaimed their indifference and ignorance with pride. Which leads me to yet another recent, annoying article from our local paper, The Post and Courier.

It was an Earth Day soap box piece about litter, for the most part. The implication was that litter is hurting our planet. Is it? Does it really matter whether trash is gathered in a container or strewn about the landscape? I think the answer is...maybe. At least in a landfill, there is a liner, however impermanent, that prevents leaching of toxins to some degree. It also confines (concentrates?) any leaching that does take place to a particular locale. Of course, if groundwater IS contaminated near a landfill, there is a much greater chance that the infiltration will be at such levels as to make it a human health hazard, especially considering population density near landfills. There are too many issues and arguments to settle such a question in such a forum. One thing, however, is certain...there should be fewer things to throw away.

The article totally missed the opportunity to remark on just how much stuff we "consume." The need for landfills would be nearly eliminated if we simply used less and used that which is durable or reasonably biodegradable. It is ironic that the term "consume" is used beyond the market of food, now, since very few of us actually consume anything we buy (if anything, most of what we buy consumes us by competing with our quality of life for limited resources).

It has been said that "recycling rewards consumption." I believe it was William McDonough, and I believe he is absolutely correct (please read his incredible book, "Cradle to Cradle"). We all feel better about ourselves when we are led to believe that recycling will fix our planetary problems, and it keeps us from thinking twice about buying more and more stuff. Reuse trumps recycle every time. Buy durable things and we spend less in the long run, besides.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

As for the image at the header, I rode the 100 or so miles to the parents' place the other day, which takes me through the Francis Marion National Forest on Hwy. 17. The image was taken near the South Santee River. It was a terrific trip with a mild tailwind and perfect weather. The rest of the images were taken at Lewis Ocean Bay near Myrtle Beach. Sundew, frog's breeches pitcher plant, and yellow trumpet pitcher plant were all in bloom, though no luck on Venus' fly trap. The other two images are from the huge bicycle lane on the huge Cooper River Bridge on the way out of town. I plan on doing more long Friday rides this season and putting the new tent through the paces of a Charleston summer, so more images are definitely to come.