MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

No, we’re not talking about Willie Nelson here, but a tale of 4 people and the random things they found on a mile stretch of road they were cleaning up. Now, I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve cleaned up countless roads in my time, but you can never really predict the random things you can find out there. Sure, you have the classic 7-11 chilli dog boxes, or perhaps an empty 40oz beer bottle in a bag, tire shrapnel, articles of clothing, or even the mysterious lone shoe. But, nothing can ever prepare you for the forgotten and tossed Environmental Stewardship textbook! (Of all books to find out there.) or the complete 12 pack of beer, still intact. (No, we didn’t drink it. We recycled the cans.) How about the wrestling trading card that explains “nothing can stop ‘the animal’…”? (a classic)

Normally when we set out on this stretch of road (Rhode Island Ave. between Edgewood and Greenbelt Rds.) we are prepared to see the nasty, the smelly, the random and ridiculous….and a lot of it. We were lucky in a few different ways today. 1) the weather was a bit cooler with a slight breeze. 2) the road wasn’t too nasty or smelly, which could be an indication that we are doing an amazing job OR people who like to throw trash out their windows are on vacation. and finally 3) we found a lot of random and ridiculous surprises, which definitely keeps things interesting.

I highly recommend that if you ever get a chance to participate in a clean-up, jump at the opportunity. Not only are you helping the environment, but chances are that you will come across some random objects that will keep you guessing and talking.

This past weekend was a moderately eventful one filled with a lot of heat, humidity and lessons learned. As learned by my roommate and something I actually wrote about in the MOMs sales flyer article this month; “When you are wading in the water or playing on the shores, no matter where you are, beware of things you cannot see. From rocks and stumps to pollution in our waterways, these things can be buried in the sand and lurking in deep water. Take precautions before diving in. Wear water-friendly sandals to protect the soles of your feet to be extra cautious in murky river bottoms.”

My roommate, who is to remain nameless, made the mistake of wading into Rock Creek in the heart of DC, in efforts to retrieve a ball they saw lodged between a rock and a fallen branch. They took off their tennis shoes and socks and began their voyage into murky water, when BAM, they stepped on something hidden below that caused them to cry out in pain, as it cut the bottom of their foot. With a disgruntled look on their face they reached into the water to find out the cause and found a rusted out soup can with sharp edges. Not only did they now have a cut foot from a rusted can, but they now had a cut foot with contamination ridden Rock Creek water inside of it.

Lesson for the weekend: as said before, beware of things you cannot see, especially when wading into water. It is safer to wear water shoes and respect the safety signs around bodies of water.