Respecting Our Community
Over the years, I have been continuously perturbed by the general lack of concern that I have seen from my fellow Oklahomans in regards to the growing amount of litter that we are allowing to accumulate on our streets, roadways, parking lots, and even our own front yards.
Here in central Oklahoma, we are fortunate to have organizations such as Keep Oklahoma City Beautiful and Keep Edmond Beautiful in which many caring and energetic citizens unselfishly take time out of their busy schedules to help clean up our cities, towns, and countryside several times a year. What is unfortunate is that there are far too few volunteers for these groups.
I’ve always promised myself that I will join one of these organizations but I haven’t yet. I have however; come up with my own way of making a difference. Every other week-end or so, I clean up trash along the roadway that runs in front of our rural neighborhood. I also keep it mowed on both sides of the road. This is something I do because I enjoy it, it’s good exercise, and like many of our citizens, I get tired of seeing trash flying out of people’s car windows and truck beds and ruining the beautiful community that I call home. As I am cleaning the road-side, I often notice how people look at me as they drive by. Most people simply drive by and don’t even notice me. Then there are those who wave and smile. I even got home one day to find a note on my door from a neighbor telling me that she and her husband did notice my work and wanted to tell me how much they appreciated my efforts to keep our neighborhood clean. It was not a major award presented at a huge ceremony but it made me feel like I was making a difference. It made me feel good. I hope that those folks who do take notice of my work will take my lead and begin taking an active role in keeping our neighborhoods clean and beautiful.
Here in central Oklahoma, we are fortunate to have organizations such as Keep Oklahoma City Beautiful and Keep Edmond Beautiful in which many caring and energetic citizens unselfishly take time out of their busy schedules to help clean up our cities, towns, and countryside several times a year. What is unfortunate is that there are far too few volunteers for these groups.
I’ve always promised myself that I will join one of these organizations but I haven’t yet. I have however; come up with my own way of making a difference. Every other week-end or so, I clean up trash along the roadway that runs in front of our rural neighborhood. I also keep it mowed on both sides of the road. This is something I do because I enjoy it, it’s good exercise, and like many of our citizens, I get tired of seeing trash flying out of people’s car windows and truck beds and ruining the beautiful community that I call home. As I am cleaning the road-side, I often notice how people look at me as they drive by. Most people simply drive by and don’t even notice me. Then there are those who wave and smile. I even got home one day to find a note on my door from a neighbor telling me that she and her husband did notice my work and wanted to tell me how much they appreciated my efforts to keep our neighborhood clean. It was not a major award presented at a huge ceremony but it made me feel like I was making a difference. It made me feel good. I hope that those folks who do take notice of my work will take my lead and begin taking an active role in keeping our neighborhoods clean and beautiful.
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