Editor:
Walking up our street this past week, a light went on in an unexpected moment of reflection. It was compost curbside pick-up day, and at the end of all of the driveways were those green plastic containers. Getting the compost out on Tuesday mornings seems to have become a part of the weekly routine. I thought back to those first weeks of compost pick-up when those containers were not evident in front of every address. Resistance? Not being sure? Laziness at having to take another step or two in disposing of household “waste”? But now, it’s become a habit. A positive change has occurred. Ditto the Gibsons Recycling Depot, which is most often a hubbub of recycling activity when we drop by once a week. Another lifestyle change has become necessary in the past almost two years: wearing masks. This required change was not as easy for me to accommodate. Never in my 70 plus years had I ever had to place a mask over my mouth and nose. Initially there was a combination of resistance, not being sure and laziness on my part. But now putting on a mask when I’m indoors is not a problem. I even forget sometimes that I can take my mask off when I exit. I have masks in practically every jacket pocket. I understand that I may be wearing a mask, perhaps by choice, for the rest of my life. And like putting out the compost on Tuesdays and those weekly recycling trips up to Industrial Way, I can see that “masking up” has become a habit that the vast majority of us have integrated into our lives. “The Times They Are A Changing.” But, there are a host of additional lifestyle changes that we must be prepared to incorporate into our everyday lives as the planet heats up. Masks and recycling routines are only just the warm-up exercise. As my friend says, “Let’s get it done!”
Dave Diether
Gibsons
