Sunday, 27 April 2008 - A clean culvert

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a clean culvert.

The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty.
The activist is the man who cleans up the river.
~Ross Perot

Our friend and neighbor, Ric, calls just before 1 PM. He tells S that a local Cub Scout troop is planning to pick up trash in the culvert at 1 PM and wants to know if I can join the effort. I agree to help. This unplanned project means that S, T and I must postpone our bouldering adventure by one hour. No one complains about the delay.

Only one Cub Scout, Brian, and his mother, Julie, show up at the culvert (the others are cleaning the park that lies south of the subdivision) so it's a good thing that Ric, Mark and I are available to assist. There's a lot of trash piled at the culvert's north end and scattered along the full length of the west bank. I collect the plastic bottles and aluminum cans for recycling. S arrives later with T and a shovel. He quickly breaks up and moves the pile of wet leaves that's blocking the main drainage area.

By 2 PM, the culvert is clean. Our ad hoc team disperses. Brian and Julie move to another location. Ric and Mark decide to clean up the "waterfall" area at the south end of the culvert. S, T and I go bouldering in Ute Valley Park.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.