The Joys of “doing my part” for 2013.
I have been commuting to work via my bicycle and going for runs all over the city. Look what I found!
Riding my bike to work has been a great way for me to appreciate the City of Milwaukee, especially after the brutally long cold winter. I have been able to cruise along enjoying the incredible spring blossom show.
It amazes me how it feels like the city is actually awakening from hibernation.
The people, trees, squirrels, bunnies, birds, and all the amazing flowers are popping up everywhere. It is like the sun is calling out like the next door neighbor’s kid, “hey come out and play with me today.” And so just like that people of all ages run out of their house like little children, screen door slamming behind them to go bath in sunshine and laughter.
As these hibernating city dwellers appear so does multitudes of trash. On every corner, every public walk way, gardens and parks people use the ground as a trash bin. The beaches here are littered with trash. And for all the beauty, I have such a hard time with the lack of appreciation of the beautiful parks. There are trash bins at most parks, but there are no places to recycle litter. So as you can see people sit beneath the beautiful blossoms and seem to forget their cups, beers bottles, and other picnic goodies.
As I walked the parks with The RoxKal this morning, we found charcoal dumped in the park, beer cans and bottles, cigarette butts, and tons of plastic from all the Memorial Day parties yesterday. We did our best to pick up the mess left behind. We love Back Bay Park it is the cross between Lake Michigan beaches and the peaceful neighborhoods of Lake Drive.
There are a few organizations of people who care about the environment, but over all there is a high level of disinterest by the public to appreciate the outdoor resources. Coming from the dry desert – a beautiful lush grassy area is a Big Time asset. Who would ever dump their charcoals out on the ground and just leave for home? Especially knowing the park is a playground for children.
They say 600,000 people live in the City of Milwaukee, but during winter it is a ghost city. And then a month ago the sun appeared and I could no longer walk peacefully by myself along the beach with the RoxKal.
