I grew up in a small town in central Maine, and I have a bone to pick with some of my fellow Mainers.
Sometimes I take a walk down the road, not just for exercise but also to see the beauty of Maine’s countryside as it changes from season to season.
The beauty of Maine’s countryside, I think, is something special. All the different kinds of fields, forests, streams, marshes, critters that live in these places — what a treasure.
What’s not a treasure, what’s not so special, is the trash along the roadside. Bottles and cans, fast food cups and bags, candy bar wrappers, cigarette cartons … the list goes on. Why do some people think the roadside is the right place to throw that stuff? Is it just because it’s so convenient to toss it out the car window?
It’s not so much a question of feeling personal responsibility for the place where you live, though of course it’d be nice if more people had that. It’s a question of waking up to the beauty of Maine. Throwing trash out the car window is like spitting on that beauty.
Christien Beeuwkes
Mercer
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