Trash On The Side

Mom and I decided we needed to make a road trip up to Kentucky to get our fix of the Cincinnati style chili that we love so much. You can check out a previous story about our search for Gold Star Chili here. The car show wasn't going on this particular weekend so we decided to check out the local parks. I wanted to go to Cumberland Falls Park, which has a very impressive waterfall, and with the recent rains, the falls were flooded and almost three times their normal size. I had been to see these falls when I was a child. Two things stand out the most in my mind: the gift shop and a snake. I liked to visit the gift shops at places we visited--not to purchase any of the keepsakes but to get every free brochure that was available. I'm not sure why, but I thought it was my duty to get every brochure that I could carry and take it home with me. I had boxes of the crazy things. The snake that I remember was in a tree near the base of the waterfall and was causing quite a stir. I wasn't curious about it. I was keeping tabs on it because snakes and I don't get along...at all! This trip to Cumberland Falls left me with two different memories: the sheer force of the falls and the trash. I was in awe of the speed and the sounds that the falls were generating. Conversation was extremely difficult and many visitors viewed the falls in quiet respect. However, it was hard to stay focused on the falls when all you needed to do was turn your head and look down. Straight down was where the trash was and it made me sick. Sick to my stomach and sick to my heart. I wasn't the only visitor that was in shock. Many folks just stood with mouths agape at just how much trash had tumbled over the falls. We saw balls of every shape, size and kind. Different colored soda and water plastic bottles. A picnic cooler. Several tires and numerous other types of garbage. It was a holy mess! Sickening! Very distressing! How could we let this happen? It wasn't trash from the park as the following picture states. I guess if you take anything away from this blog post, let it be this: Please recycle and put trash in it's proper place. It's never too late to help save the environment.