The Day of Good Deeds

Today Adam and I each participated in activities to help our community. Yes, I'm on a school bus. Yes, I'm wearing a safety orange vest. And a stocking cap.




Today was BV's day to clean up our stretch of adopted Kansas Highway. About 20 students from the school donned orange vests and gloves, and five teachers headed out to help them pick up trash and make sure no one got hit by a car.

I don't know if YOU were out and about this morning, but it was pretty darn cold at 8 a.m. Though, I must say, if I'm going to be out picking up trash, I'd rather be cold than do it when it's 100 degrees.

Things my day on the side of the road taught me (in no particular order):

• Even in 2007, people still think it's okay to throw trash out of their cars.

• The most litteringest people? Smokers. By far. No, we didn't pick up any of the nine zillion cigarette butts we saw, so I'm not even including those. But, I alone picked up AT LEAST 25 cigarette boxes, packs, etc. Our stretch was only about one mile.

• The promotional campaign for the movie "Seed Of Chucky" included foam sperms with "Seed of Chucky" IN STORES NOW printed on them. Yes, I picked up one of those. (?!?)

• Trash can stay on the side of the road a long freaking' time.

• Even at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, standing on the side of a 65mph road, teenagers will still stop and text message someone.

• People need to get with the times and start drinking out of refillable, durable water bottles and stop throwing the disposable kind out of their cars.

I mean, SERIOUSLY. Who throws trash out their car windows? Who? Trust me, I know that there is usually trash in a car (anyone who's been in my own car will attest to that), but I'm amazed that someone can say to themself: "Self, I think I'll roll down the window and toss this BK cup out to the side of the road. That sounds like a grand idea."

Whatever happened to "Keep America Beautiful"? "Don't Mess With Texas"? "Littering is punishable with up to a $500 fine"?


After cleaning up after our "neighbors," I buzzed home, showered to remove the grimy, I've-been-standing-on-the-side-of-the-highway-this-must-be-what-a-hitchhiker-feels-like feeling, and Adam and I headed to the Special Olympics Bowl-A-Thon.

Here's Adam with one of his students. Check out his fly bowling shirt. The entire team of teachers had them.

Bowling was fun. The bumpers were up, so that was a little strange. I've never bowled like that before. Just like the morning's activity taught me a few things, the afternoon of bowling taught me something as well.

I'm a damn sight better at Wii bowling than I am at real bowling. Usually, on Wii, I score around 260 - today, didn't get higher than 70ish, and that was WITH the bumpers.