I am still in a daze of disbelief, the sheer innocence and ignorance of the event was numbing at best. A long day coming to a close with a few scant minutes of sunlight left, I was looking forward to just sitting in one place and listen to the melodic sounds of my knees pop. Sadly, I have come to the realization that it must be a tradition of sorts for people to revel in filth.
Initially, I relegated this realization to the recesses of my mind, chalked it up to coincidence, demographics of the neighborhoods and the like, but I’ve witnessed enough for me to draw the conclusion that there has to be more to it than mere “happenstance”.
What am I talking about you may ask? It is the total disregard of disposing of garbage in proper receptacles. The most recent incident involved a young boy not more than 4 years old. Who threw his empty plastic bottle of juice onto the sidewalk in front of his house, it rolled down the sidewalk and stopped inched from the feet of my and my son and we looked up in unison with our mouths ajar. My son beat me to the punch, when he asked him “Are you going to pick that up?” The boy paused and looking at us hesitantly before walking down the several steps from the house onto the street, rather than picking up the bottle and taking it into his house he reared his leg back & kicked it into the street and casually walked back up the steps to his house without a second thought.
We stood there for a split second dumbfounded by the whole exchange, I started to pick up the bottle and knock on the door, to relay what I had seen to his parents or whomever was watching the child, because he was sitting on the porch by himself, unsupervised what if R. Kelly or someone else of his ilk was around.
Looking through the door that was ajar from where we stood on the sidewalk. I witnessed the “adults” and I use this term lightly. Playing a raucous game of cards or dominos in the kitchen clouded by smoke, I grunted in disbelief and turned on my heel and walked towards my house grumbling that the apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree. In that instant it all made sense in that disposing of garbage right where you stand is an involuntary 
reflex of sorts.
My son replied that it is amazing how “absent minded” people can be; I corrected him, letting him know that is bad home training or a lack thereof-not absent mindedness. I couldn’t help but to rehash the countless episodes that I have witnessed of trash throwing.
Like the woman eating a bag of potato chips walking down the street who just tossed the bag over her shoulder without a second thought or the guy walking down the street eating McDonalds and let the wind carry the wrapper from his hands, oblivious to the people walking behind him. My favorite type of trash thrower is the type that throws their trash from their moving car, their gift to the world I presume. Maybe it’s something wrong with me-maybe I’m the oddball? Using a trash can how lame!
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