Roadside Cleanup...

Today, I had a little spare time so I rode my rusty old beat up Schwinn up to the first and second entrances of St. Augustine South and picked up litter. I usually do it somewhere between 4-5 times a year when the accumulated junk just overwhelms me when I drive by.

I find picking up litter to be strangely therapeutic. First off, please realize that I'm not some self-satisfied, self-righteous tree-hugger. My reasons for picking up trash are more pragmatic. You see, I started doing so a few years back while my Dad was still alive. I was caring for him as dementia robbed us of the amazing gentleman he had been his entire life. When he finally passed on after a long deterioration, I had to sell his properties to settle his affairs.

It was while attempting to sell his small rentals that I began to take notice of the neighborhood. What had long bothered me about the litter strewn down Shore Drive began to take a malevolent role. I realized I couldn't just rely on fixing up the rentals. I had to get to work on fixing up the neighborhood if I hoped to sell these houses.

So, back in 2005-2006 I began periodically cleaning up litter. It was something I had done where ever I lived, but now I did it with more purpose. This is what I learned....

1. I found a preponderence of cigarette butts/packs, fast-food containers/bags, beer bottles/cans, etc. Which allowed me to draw a conclusion: "People who won't take care of themselves, won't take care of the world around them".


2. I realized that: "Litter leads to Neglect...Neglect leads to Decay...Decay leads to Property Crime...Property Crime leads to Violent Crime". So, by picking up trash, I'm not doing so to save the earth. I'm doing so to fight crime by interrupting a neighborhood's slide from neglect to crime before it gains momentum.


3. Lastly, I have arrived at this nostrum: "If you let people treat your neighborhood like a ghetto, one day you'll wake up in a ghetto".

So I'll keep my periodic cleanups. I feel good after I'm done. I may look silly doing it, but I don't care. I'm not too good to pick up trash, but I am too good to live in a ghetto.

Matt Jeffs - 11.14.08

Guy Persone

Check out this week's show with Guy Persone. He's some character who shows up uninvited to the St. Augustine Record and claims to represent them. They've been good sports by humoring him and he doesn't seem to be an immediate threat to himself or others. Still, he can be a little, 'ahem', erratic. We never know when he'll show up, so stay tuned.