What on Earth?

It's been said – by those who care – that "every day is Earth Day." It should be.

As an R Person (one of 8 in my family), I like the R words "Recycle" and "Reuse." And I try to make them action words in my life. There was a time, though, I didn't care.

Who did?

When I watch a TV show like Mad Men, set in the '60s, I am reminded of this. On one episode, a family had a picnic and when it was time to go, they shook off the blanket, let the paper plates land where they may, and walked to the car without looking back. Maybe an exaggeration. But maybe not.

If you are a walker or runner or take the dog around the block, you know once the snow melts, the ditches yield evidence that people are still tossing trash out their car windows. Cigarette butts, fast food wrappers and beer cans seem to be the popular choices I note.

Just because there is not a "do not litter" sign, doesn't mean we should. Would you go to someone's house and dump trash on their floor? Then why do it to Mother Earth's home?

I acknowledge I am not the best role model. I used enough AquaNet in the '80s to enlarge the hole in the ozone. When I have opted to car pool or walk somewhere, it has been to save on gas money, not to save the planet from air pollution. I don't necessarily save all those Cool Whip containers to practice "reuse," it is just my hoarding genes causing me to litter in my own cupboards!

Still, we do recycle everything we can from paper to plastic. I feel guilty if I am somewhere and there is no recycling option for my empty can or bottle. But am I guilty of not doing enough to save the planet or guilty of putting us in this position in the first place?

We may mock the "old-fashioned" way of living – cloth diapers and clotheslines – but when we became a disposable society, we created a mess of disposable items that can be thrown away but not disappear. Out of sight, out of mind?

That's why I like the quote above that we are borrowing the planet from our children. They will need it longer than we will. What can we do to give it to them in good condition?

Remember: It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature... She has ways of getting back at us. Case in point...

Brrrr... Happy @#@$% Earth Day from Mr. Deck Chair!