Uncategorized

No Planet Left Behind

70 Comments

Here’s a note that came in yesterday afternoon from perennial sophomore Bubby Spamden, who knows the routine and the calendar at Wendell Wilkie High School much better than the teachers and administrators.

Hi Mr. C.

I’m sitting in study hall with nothing to do after finishing the MCA tests. That’s the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments. They’re the tests we take to find out if we’re really the miserable losers our parents say we are, and also how bad our school is failing based on the rules for the No Child Left Behind Law.

I can tell you that law is definitely not working at Wilkie ‘cause I’ve been Left Behind, Kicked To The Side, Thrown To The Wolves, Pushed To The Curb and Tossed From The Train over and over again for so many years in a row now that school visitors pretty much always mistake me for the janitor.

Seriously, I’ve got a 5 day shadow by 5th hour every day. If I gained about 200 pounds I could totally pass for Mr. Lootanen.

But I wouldn’t want to be a school janitor. Cleaning up our school is the hardest job on Earth. Teenagers are gross. Me included. I just got caught dropping a Tootsie Roll wrapper on the floor and Ms. Flipping, our study hall monitor this hour, called me out on it. Actually, her name isn’t Ms. Flipping, that’s just what we call her because of how she reacts to things. Kinda dramatic. I couldn’t even defend myself because you know how slow your mouth gets when there’s a Tootsie Roll in there. I was helpless.

So anyway, she got steamed and said I should go online and find some resources and then write an essay based on my research about what I would do to clean up the planet for Earth Day, which is this Sunday. And then, she said, I would have to prove to her on Monday that I actually did something that was on the list.

The Earth is kinda big, so now I’m thinking maybe I’d be better off pretending to be Mr. Lootanen and trying to pick up here at the school.

But then I found this article at The Huffington Post that really makes it simple. According to the writer, I can take a hike with my family, (Somebody at home IS always telling me to ‘take a hike’) pick up litter in my neighborhood with friends, (I would have to get a totally different group of friends to try this one), come up with a recycling plan for the coming year, (I thought years just automatically recycled themselves – isn’t that how people like you get to be so old?) or join a larger public clean-up (my grandfather says there’s nothing clean about the larger public – that’s why he never goes out).

I was starting to feel a little desperate. I didn’t think I’d be able to do any of these things. But then I saw this last Earth Day idea: “Even if you can’t do any of the above – make sure you take some time to think about the importance of preserving our planet.”

Ahhh! That’s more like it! My life has been all about finding the simplest answer on a long series of multiple choice tests. There’s always an easy way out of having to do something, if you show some patience and look for it.

Yes, the planet is important, and preserving it is a good idea. If there were no planet, we’d just be floating free in space with no air or bicycles or cocoanuts – three things I would not want to have to do without.

Whew! Job accomplished for another year!

Your Earth Protecting Pal,
Bubby

What are you doing for Earth Day?

70 thoughts on “No Planet Left Behind”

  1. Morning all. Short answer is yard work. I’ve been busting my behind for work the last few weekends, but this weekend is slotted for raking, mulching, sod removal, dandelion digging, you name it.

    The longer answer is that it’s too bad that the Huffington Post gave Bubby and too many others a pass on actual action. If sitting around thinking about the planet (or any other pressing topic) was enough, we wouldn’t need to be sitting around thinking about the planet. Get off your duff, Bubby and get something done tomorrow. OK, I’m stepping off the soap box very carelly now!

    Like

    Reply

    3. “If sitting around thinking about the planet (or any other pressing topic) was enough, we wouldn’t need to be sitting around thinking about the planet.” Hear! Hear! Also, grandiose public actions followed by private irresponsible actions. OK, Knocking over the soap box so that I am not tempted to spout at this late hour

      Like

      Reply

  2. My daughter is in a school environmental club, and they had “Earth Day” activities all this month, including a campus cleanup and a butterfly garden planting over the past couple of weekends. We parents came to help out, and it went well. I even got to drive the golf cart to deliver bags of mulch, after being on digging and weeding detail for a couple of hours!

    I know that kids today are being given a certain amount of environmental awareness education in school, at least where we live. And even the kids’ TV shows and networks regularly discuss and encourage green living. It gives me a little hope to see this cultural shift. We didn’t have recycling bins when I was growing up, but today my kid is like the recycling police and makes sure we do what we’re supposed to be doing. Maybe her generation will grow up with more environmentally-friendly attitudes and habits than mine did.

    Like

    Reply

    1. WTF, I am glad to hear that. I live in western North Dakota, and there isn’t any compulsory municipal recycling. I think the attitude here in the past was that we have so much open and empty space that we didn’t need to recycle. People are becoming more aware of the benefits now, and the city is trying to provide for bins around town for people to recycle stuff voluntarily. One problem is that we are so far from markets for recycled goods that it would cost too much to ship them.

      Like

      Reply

      1. you might try setting up an aluminum can trailer to raise funds for whatever if there are no other recycling venues available. it is a very good fundraising tool. 100,000 dollars is very doable with a lack of other options for recycling folks

        Like

        Reply

  4. Going for a bike ride. If I stopped and picked up all this stretching rings people use for their long hair, I would never get back. Why are so many out there? Seems an odd bit of trash.
    A couple folks late yesterday requestede a picture of tuxedo boy. If you click on my blog name (Clyde in Mankato), you should see Jonah and Lily on Thanksgiving morning.

    Like

    Reply

    3. I am sure that all the stretchy hair ties you see are from my daughter, and they have blown to Mankato from ND. She strews them all over the house, it it wouldn’t surprise me if they found their way out of the house. We will spend Earth Day pulling weeds.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Do those stretch ties have a name? Is it stretchy ties?
        Trash I see in order of prevalence: empty drink containers (bottles, cans, paper), cigaret packs, stretchy ties, broken glass, items of clothing. I see very little McDonalds trash, which I used to see all the time when I lived elsewhere. I am wondering if it is because I am too close. One store in 1/2 mile away and the other is 1.25. Maybe people have not had time to eat and throw yet.

        Like

        Reply

  5. For starters, I will take a reusable mug to Caribou and get a free coffee in it. Then, depending on what the weather is doing, I may chip some raspberry canes for a little do-it-yourself mulch, or perhaps try to fix something that would otherwise be destined for a landfill.

    Looked up Earth Hour and discovered that I missed it this year – it was March 31st.

    Like

    Reply

  6. right now i’m getting ready to go to duluth to help my mom…maybe for earth day, i will help her get rid of some clutter in a responsible way (she won’t have it any other way). more likely, she won’t let me get rid of anything. i will also strive to enjoy this beautiful world by hiking up a creek or hanging out by the lake – and i will pick up all the litter i can.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Good morning to all. One of my granddaughters was born on Earth Day and I will be going to her birthday party. On the way to the party I will take a mower to my other daughter’s house so that the lawn can be mowed there. Those are sort of Earth Day related activities, but not really. I guess I can’t claim any direct participation in Earth Day.

    Okay, in order to not completely ignore Earth Day, I will join Bubby and spend part of the day thinking about how important it is to preserve the planet. I agree with Sherrilee that Bubby and I should get off our duffs. However, maybe duffers like Bubby and me are better off on the side lines keeping out of the way of all those very active people that would have to slow down for us if we joined them in their very energetic attempts to save the planet.

    Like

    Reply

  10. I may go to this, posted last night by Lisa in Mpls:
    “singing Baboons should come to the next Community Sing Saturday at MLK Park 41st and Nicollet at Noon. ”
    And if it’s not speciflcally Earth Day related, I’ll bring some bags for collecting trash wherever I go today. It’s still disgusting to me that we have to do this, that people won’t take care of their own trash.

    I remember the first Earth Day – it was my first kindergarten class, and I know we did something special, just can’t remember what. Probably took bags out to pick up trash on the playground.

    Like

    Reply

  11. I was stunned to hear that a MN state lawmaker, Rep. Mary Franson (Republican from Alexandria) dismisses Earth Day as “a pagan holiday.” This is the same genius who claims that giving food stamps to the poor is like feeding animals in the zoo.

    How old am I? Old enough to remember when Republicans understood Earth Day and didn’t hate the environment.

    Like

    Reply

    2. Wall-E is such a delightful movie and has a strong environmental message. Another beautiful animated movie from long ago that never made it big was “Fern Gully.” Cute movie set in the rainforest where a young man is accidentally turned into a fairy or sprite that helps plants grow.

      Like

      Reply

  14. OT. PJ mentioned yesterday that the son of Rosalie Sorrels is asking for donations to pay for repairs to his mother’s cabin so that Roslie can live there in retirement. I learned that donations can be mailed to: Rosalie Sorrels, PO Box 1204, Boise, ID 83701. A web site that tells about the need for donations is found at http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=140860 Like PJ, I am a big Rosalie fan and think that it would good to help her family make some repairs to Rosalie’s cabin to make her retirement more comfortable.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Jim. If you are on Facebook, Rosalie’s Facebook page has more recent information, including pictures of problem areas (leaky roof being one of them) and what they are attempting to do. Paypal is, or will be shortly, another option for donating if you’re so inclined.

      Like

      Reply

  16. Iwas thinking I don’t have time because I am booked. But it is going to richard
    Louv who is the nature deficit disorder at minnetonka librarym(I hadn’t put the earth day connection together) and then to install the broken concrete pa

    Like

    Reply

    2. sorry i was on an ipad that is difficult for me to type on. i was trying to say i am going to see the guy who is all about getting nature back into school life . his name is richard louv and he is a t the ridgedale library. i am also trying to a path installed in my center of the driveway hosta garden. when i bought the house it was a 20 foot circle of grass that the cars circle when you pull in. the grass was a token piece of suburbia so i turned it into a hosta goarden but it was a 20foot circle of solid hasta and no much method to the madness so it added a path to divide it into sections and the broken concrete seemed like the ticket. i found a sidewalk that had been jackhammered out side a business and got permission to pick trhough it for the stuff i wanted. well 5 loads later and digging some pretty serious holes to make the 4-6 inch thick pieces of concrete lay down correctly have me in the believer column but it is a bit of work. i will do another small project or two before i replace my 400 foot long driveway but it is in the long term plan. i like reusing the concrete rather than sending it off to the landfill. i think target and wal mart should lead the way to start doing their parking lots this way rather than sending al the rain water off to the gutters. so i am in reflection living the earth day rather than being to busy to participate. i talked myself into feeling good about my full earth day dance card. maybe charlton heston will get his chance to punch my dance card about 10 tonight.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Way to go, tim. Our neighbors have done very creative things with parts of our former retaining wall, which came down in that tornado last year. I love to see the results, and am glad to help as long as I have a dolly (hand car) for moving the stuff around.

        Like

        Reply

  17. I’ve been an Earth Day activist in the past. Those days are gone and that’s okay with me. I’ve cleaned up stretches of the Cannon and Straight Rivers with groups of other volunteers, waist deep in water, pulling a canoe around that was loaded with metal, shoes, tires, plastic, cans, glass, clothes, car batteries and many other strange things. I’ve planted trees and helped to restore native prairies. It’s a lot of hard work and it can be discouraging when you look around and see litter everywhere. It’s even more discouraging when faced with the reality of people like Rep. Franson and some of my own coworkers who work for the DNR (an environmental organization?) and refuse to recycle for a variety of lame reasons. I guess I’ve given up a little. I still preach the same sermon, try to provide recycling where I can and clean up what I can. I’m willing to let go of what I can’t control.

    Today, I will pull weeds and work in my garden, without chemicals. I’ll turn my compost pile and add compost to the garden. I’ll limit the electricity I use; I won’t start my mower, weed whapper or car. I’ll ride my bike or walk to the store if I need anything. I’ll practice yoga and meditate.

    Like

    Reply

  18. O sweet spontaneous
    earth how often have
    the
    doting
    fingers of
    prurient philosophers pinched
    and
    poked

    thee
    ,has the naughty thumb
    of science prodded
    thy

    beauty .how
    often have religions taken
    thee upon their scraggy knees
    squeezing and

    buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
    gods
    (but
    true

    to the incomparable
    couch of death thy
    rhythmic
    lover

    thou answerest

    them only with

    spring)

    e. e. cummings

    Like

    Reply

  19. The weather today is beautiful-just what we needed after the wind yesterday-gusts up to 47 mph all day. We have decided to make our Earth Day a pagan holiday just as that reptillain MN legistator from Alexandria described it, and will stay home from church to beautify our yard and cook and bake foods from scratch. We have been behaving like squirrels all winter,and our freezers are so full that we must start to use up some of the stuff we have. Like squirrels, we seem to have an abundance of nuts of all sorts, so I am making Baklava and nut filled cinnamon buns.

    Like

    Reply

      1. I made the Cream Cheese Cinnamon Buns from the King Arthur Baker’s Catalog. The recipe is on line and it is the best cinnamon recipe i have ever made.

        Like

        Reply

  20. Greetings and Happy Earth Day! Wish I could say I was doing something constructive, but I’m not. Watched several episodes of “Warehouse 13” from the SciFi channel that we’ve become addicted to and Jim has downloaded. We are doing fine. I’m still working temp in Sartell and Jim quit his temp job because of some stupid disagreement — too long to talk about. He’s planning on going back to college at St. Cloud State in mid-May. Still waiting to find out if he’s accepted. I hope so — he’s never met a job he liked. Maybe an actual degree in science or physics will bring him the type of job he would enjoy.

    I do check in on the Trail a few times a week, but just don’t feel motivated to post. working full-time is a drag. I’m starting back up in karate as my knee is getting better, so that’ takes care of my evenings. Miss you guys, though.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Joanne, sorry to hear that things aren’t going as smoothly as you might want. I know I miss you here on the trail, and I’m sure others do as well, so please check in when the spirit moves you.

      Like

      Reply

  21. Joanne , even when you are not here we think of you and wish you all the best. Here’s wishing that the spirit of the trail travels with you to Sartell and lightens your day!

    Like

    Reply

  22. I have adjusted my focus to small and local. I’d like to offer my services as the poster child for Rep. Mary Franson’s Earth Day Pagan celebration. In small ways, I have found a way to celebrate each day as Earth Day. I had not considered myself to be subversive until now.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.