For all my life, spring has meant clean up to me. When I was a kid, the walls were scrubbed, the ceiling washed (a death-defying trick for the short members of my family) and the ratty old linoleum floor polished to an unbelievable brilliance.
All the junk that our large brood had outgrown or worn to the ground during the past winter was chopped into rags or given the heave-ho.
All of this has started me thinking about cleaning up in my modern world.
First off, I'd like to start with the language that seems to becoming more and more a fabric of our everyday life. I thought a lot about that Saturday night when I was coming out of the elevator at River Rock in Richmond and walked into a wave of verbal filth. Like many people, I swear. However, I believe there's a time and a place for everything. And a public hotel with people of all ages present is not the place to be entertaining folks with your ignorance. As a very wise teacher told me one time, the only reason people swear is they're too lazy to find the correct word to use.
One of the things that bothers me about the Sunshine Coast is the sudden proliferation of vehicles for sale parked on the side of the highway come spring. This is a practice I'd like to see cleaned up. More than once, I've had some looky-loo in front of me slam on the brakes to look at his next monster truck. Come to think of it, they may have been related to the mouth-breathing morons related above. Anyway, I think it's unfair that legitimate businesses have to pay for a car lot, but others can just park where they please and advertise their vehicles.
And while I'm speaking about cleaning up and the highway, I'd like to give big kudos to John Weston, our re-elected member of Parliament. He and the Conservative Party certainly cleaned up at the polls on Monday, but that's not the only reason to give him a shout out. As of Tuesday noon, all his election signs were gathered up. Nothing says litter like a loser's election signs days after the vote. I hope by the time you read this, the others are gone too.
On a happy note, it was wonderful to see our former reporter Brent Richter clean up at the community newspaper awards last Saturday. His well-written series on recycling on the Sunshine Coast earned many accolades from the judges. How cool that he cleaned up on clean up! Considering the many hours he put into the effort, the gold was totally deserved. And for those of you who know Brent, rest assured he hasn't forgotten the Coast. He spent quite some time asking about the state of affairs at his old beats, the Sunshine Coast Regional District and Town of Gibsons. If only we could compete with his lovely girlfriend Christine and the lure of the big city, Brent would probably still be here.
So, what's on your list for clean up this spring?
