Litter

I take a half-finished Coca-Cola can from the car. I empty out the leftover soda and toss the can to the side of the road.

I am not littering.

This can is for Elvira or for one of the Martinez children. They are the most prolific of the scavengers who wander the neighborhood each afternoon, loading up large plastic bags with aluminum that can be recyclable.

They are our equivalent of those Guatemalan Indians that I have seen bent over in half by the load of wood they have scavenged from their hiways and byways.

We are foolish if we think that we are a more advanced civilization.

I think for a bit about what it means to know the name of the person who will pick up what I consider trash and find a better use for it than I have.

(Photo by Michael Seifert)