Show Me Something Beautiful

yesterday when i arrived at work there was a lady pulling up "weeds" that were growing in the cracks from behind the building i work in. she came up to me and asked if she could have some water. i thought perhaps she was thirsty and said sure. then she said she wanted the water in order to use it with the poisonous chemicals that she and her partner were going to spray around the building in order to prevent any further growth. for one thing it will not permanently prevent them from growing again and more importantly, what is more harmful, these weeds or carcinogenic chemicals sprayed in the air and on the ground? why must such a health hazardous method be used to remove these plants. i can understand that perhaps some people do not want these weeds growing there. fine, just remove them by picking them. stop poisoning the earth! and because it was a hot day i would have had the back door open and been breathing in this toxic shit.

her partner was at the front of the lot with a gas powered leaf blower, blowing the dust off of the parking lot. not vacuuming it up, blowing it away into the street and elsewhere. how exactly is this cleaning? this is simply pushing the dirt from one area to another and making it someone else's problem to remove if they choose to do so. but the ridiculous thing about it is there is garbage on this lot for weeks on end, thrown there by thoughtless people who don't give a damn about keeping the neighborhood clean. and the vast majority of this garbage is fast food junk garbage eg tim horton's cups and hamburger wrappers...crap that's garbage for the body now it's garbage on the ground. now i will try to do my part by picking up some of the trash in front of the store but why don't these so called "cleaners" pick up the garbage on a daily or even a weekly basis, never mind the dust that's on the lot! yet the most important thing it seemed was to make sure that the dust was blown away by using a polluting, noisy gas powered blower.

then when i got into work there was a tim horton's cup of coffee in the fridge. the person who brings this in is an overweight, diabetic old man who comes in practically everyday simply to hang around a pornography store (yes that's right, i'm the manager of a pornography store) while doing a crossword puzzle. i don't mind a fella coming in and just hanging around but here's the catch...he brings in two cups of tim horton's coffee in disposable cups, in a bag, along with a tim horton's cookie...in another bag. the only person who drinks the other cup of coffee he brings in is a fat man who only works a few shifts a week, the rest of the time it get's dumped out. so now it's a waste of money as well as being just another piece of garbage. he also brings in two copies of the free daily newspaper...more garbage...so that he can do the crossword. he says "one for you and one for me" even though i have told him i do not want this paper (which is another thing that is strewn about the lot as litter). i have told this person, "please do not bring in this coffee, you are only creating unnecessary garbage". he could easily use a reusable cup and use the same bag to put his cookie in but he chooses to disregard the amount of garbage he is responsible for making and dismiss what i say as unimportant and so he brings in two disposable cups (sometimes four if he comes in twice) each day along with his two newspapers (if he wouldn't patronize this free paper, less copies would be printed and there would be less garbage because let's face it most people do not recycle it, it's easier and more convenient to just throw things away). after a month there is already a garbage bag full of just tim horton's coffee cups and bags and this is just from one man! think of the thousands of thoughtless canadians who each day buy coffee in these cups, sometimes using two so they don't burn their little fingers...yet tim horton's is committed to reducing garbage and is concerned about the environment...what public relations ROT! if tim horton's were so concerned about the environment and the amount of garbage they produce they wouldn't even offer these disposable cups to this thoughtless man and the thousands more just like him who show no concern about how much they consume and the resulting garbage they create in our throw away culture and the toll that this is taking on our world. in addition, my goodwill toward this man has been deteriorating over the years because of his not infrequent bigoted, sexist and racist comments as well as his view of nonhuman animals as mere pets or commodities to be exploited and used as we see fit in order to make a profit.

to make a long story even longer. i was already upset with the lady who was going to spray poison around the building and the man who was using a polluting leaf blower to blow dust hither and thither but when i saw the tim horton's cup of coffee left from the day before i freaked. i picked it up and hurled it against the back wall. nobody seemed to give a damn about how polluted the planet is and how personally responsible each one of us is for contributing to that by our everyday actions and the choices we make. all anyone seems to care about is how much money they can make and it doesn't matter who or how many have to suffer in order to achieve that end. everything was fucked up and ugly. i felt powerless to do anything about it and i needed out. i phoned my boss and told him i had to leave.

i had to get away from this ugliness and surround myself with something beautiful, so i drove out to the mountains about six hours away. (yes i drove a car, it pollutes, but i tried to make the most ethical choice for my budget in buying a used 2006 corolla...it gets 44 miles to the gallon on the highway.) i hiked up a mountain ridge amidst the pines and wildflowers and at the top, above the treeline, i was able to have a beautiful panoramic view of glaciers and mountains and breathe in clean air (well as clean as it's going to get these days anyway) while sitting on a jutting rock all by myself. yes, for a few fleeting moments there was beauty and i was able to enjoy some of the ever dwindling bits that still remain in the world. i thought, it's a good thing those "cleaners" aren't here otherwise they might try to poison these lovely wildflowers.

The Virus Of Patriotism - a sonnet

it seems the only real way to be
apart from those who putrefy the world
is understanding everyone who sees
the milk of human kindness being curdled.
you want that i should wave a silly flag
for god and country singing 'tis of thee.
with guns and ammo blazing they will brag;
their heroes make another child bleed.
so wear your ribbon on your pickup truck.
pollute the air, defile the land and sea.
destroy the planet just to make a buck.
not in the name of freedom but for greed.
the patriotic virus shows its face,
as it brings down the "mighty" human race.