Show some pride

It never ceases to amaze me when driving somewhere how much trash is just tossed out. I sometimes lose a piece out of the back of my pickup, but I sure don't toss it out. Whole bags of leftovers from the fast food joints. Cups of all colors and descriptions. There was a couch along the road awhile back. Garbage bags and gosh knows what's in them. Makes one wonder what are they thinking. Is it laziness or what? If everyone dumped trash along our roads and streets, it would be a sad world to live in.

For me, it shows a disregard for the world we live in and the people who populate this world. I've seen photos of how beaches and our oceans are becoming more and more trashed. Sad to say. It's the same with our country and the cities in it. It's like some of the cities are being overridden by trash. It looks horrible but also poses a health threat to the people. I know Marge and I generate a bunch of trash each week, and much of what we eat is in reusable containers or stuff we can compost. But it is unreal how much trash is generated. Somehow, we need to find ways to cut down on our trash. When some come to farmers markets, they bring reusable bags rather than get their goodies in plastic bags. I like that. If each of us does a little, it will make a big difference in the end. Show some pride and make a difference.

This summer, Marge has canned gosh knows how much. I know she has way more than 100 quarts of tomato juice. I'm betting she has canned more than 200 quarts of tomato juice or whole tomatoes or other tomato-related things. She also canned a bunch of pickles. She has made and canned pepper relish and canned new potatoes and onions. All of these are in glass jars which can be used over and over again.

I enjoy watching shows on TV where they hunt and fish. I don't enjoy some of them, and I exercise my right by switching the channel or turning it off. I like responsible outdoors people. If everyone kept all the fish they caught, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any fish left. That's kind of why we have limits on how many fish one can keep. In a small lake close to me, you can keep so many bass except the ones in the 12- to 15-inch slot size. These you have to turn back. This is the prime size to lay eggs and keep the lake populated. Kind of like deer hunting. If one could kill all the deer one could shoot, there wouldn't be any left. So there are limits on how many can be shot. With the coming of the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), it has changed hunting and keeping the meat quite a bit.

If we just harvested fish or game irresponsibly, there wouldn't be any left for our neighbors or friends or family or future generations. In the past year, several elk have been shot and left to rot by irresponsible hunters. I wish they could be caught and fined. It would be neat if they lost their right to hunt or fish for 20 years or even the rest of their lives. I enjoy wildlife. I enjoy listening to a covey of quail or watching a deer frolic and play. I like to watch rabbits gnaw on some grass or such. I'm not real fond of the deer when they chew the tops off my fall cucumbers. I take pride in our Missouri Department of Conservation and the state and all the critters we have here in Missouri. I do wish there was a way of handling the CWD outbreak.

We drove by some city workers mowing the right of way along Main Street in Scott City. It looks good. We've gone to numerous events in the new tornado shelter out at the high school. It's a really a neat building. The Rams sign on the building really stands out. We stopped the other day and picked up some of the coins at the museum here in Scott City. Neat coins. We have a pretty neat museum here in Scott City. Seems like once a week or so, Marge and I drive through the cemetery and kind of visit some of our friends we have lost through the years. The cemetery always looks good. Always mowed and groomed.

I'm proud of our community here in Missouri, but I am also proud of where I grew up. A friend of mine who lives in Cape Girardeau sent me a picture last week with him standing in front of the Arthur Post Office. In their travels, he made a detour through Arthur, which is a neat little community. It has a real baled hay church and a baled hay home. The baled hay church was where I went as a kid. At one time, Arthur had about the smallest courthouse and jailhouse in America.

There were 52 students in the four grades in my high school in Arthur. I believe there were 12 in my graduating class, with 11 boys and one girl. I attended a one-room country school from kindergarten through the eighth grade. I can't fault one little bit of my education or the teachers. I think back on the teachers and can honestly say they were all good teachers. I had some outstanding parents as well. Perfect? Probably not, but darn close. Great grandparents, too.

Most of us have a lot to be thankful for and something to take pride in. If we go around in the dumps and frown and gripe and grump, we kind of infect those around us. But there are numerous things we can be proud of. You say there aren't? Then do something you can be proud of. Help a friend. Pick up some trash. Mow a neighbor's yard. Visit a shut-in. Practice conservation when it comes to our fish or animals. Volunteer to help with Meals on Wheels. Volunteer to help at the food pantry or even donate goods to the pantry. Attend the local football games or volleyball games. Wear your school's colors. I follow Nebraska football, so every week I see a sea of red at the games. Many around here follow the St. Louis Cardinals and wear their colors.

Show some pride. Keep the negatives to yourself, but comment to others how proud you are of them.