Being Kind to Mother Earth

We don’t have quite enough going on over here at Kindness Activist (insert sarcastic tone here…) – so we STARTED ANOTHER PROJECT!

We adopted some streets in our county!!

I have always liked seeing the “This stretch of interstate adopted by…” signs and wondered how the programs worked.  I recently decided to stop wondering and start doing!

First, I put out a call for CREW MEMBERS.  I was hoping to get a dozen – we got 17!  And that is perfect, because there will always be times when some people have conflicts and can’t attend.

Then, we filled out all of the paperwork.  Doing that opened up the online map so that we could see which streets had not yet been adopted and…  drum roll…  basically the “adopt a street” program in Arlington County is so underutilized and probably unknown that not a single street around us was adopted.  That is sad in that it means no one is “taking care of them”, but it was good in that we could choose whatever street we wanted!

I had a couple of criteria in mind.  I wanted a street:

-         Near our house so that we could use our home as a meeting place for all volunteers

-         In a busy area so that it would likely need some cleaning

-         Close enough to walk to

It was easy to find a street meeting those requirements.  In fact, it was so easy that instead of adopting ONE street, we adopted THREE!  We chose streets around Sequoia Plaza, a busy office complex down the street.  Here is the map – the blue/purple streets are ours:

The street we adopted

 When you adopt a street/s, you agree to clean them at least once a quarter.  You also agree to wear safety vests.  Today was our first cleaning, and so we donned our vests!!

12 kind volunteers set out to see what this “Adopt a Street” was all about.  We had buckets on loan from the county and plenty of “grabbers” and gloves.

The inaugural Kindness Activist Street Cleaning Crew!

We weren’t sure what to expect.  When you are in a car driving through that area, the streets look pretty clean.  (Shhh, one volunteer messaged me threatening to go drop some litter around there so that we would have something to pick up, because we were afraid it would be a bust!  Don’t worry, she didn’t do it 😊 .)

 

Finding bottles behind bushes

Wait, did you find a plastic bag?

But we quickly learned that even though it may look trash free when looking out your car window, when you are on foot and actually LOOKING for litter, there is a loooot to be found.

 

Clean-up in action!

We found bottles. We found cans.  We found strips of rubber and chewed gum and wrappers.  We found a box.  We found yard signs.  We found a hub cap.  We found broken glass. But what we found the MOST of by far was CIGARETTE BUTTS.

 

This was just ONE area with lots and lots of cigarette butts,
and this is AFTER we had picked some of them up already!

They are disgusting, and they were everywhere!!  You could definitely tell where the workers from the Sequoia Buildings come out on their smoke breaks ☹ .  So that is one thing I will be including in our report: there need to be cigarette butt receptacles at every entry to the offices and at the bus stop.

 

These two worked really hard

The dozen of us worked for about 90 minutes and we got a lot done!!  And do you know what?  It felt good.  I mean, not only was it a lovely sunny day to be outdoors, but bending down and picking up trash felt like a very tangible way to give back to the community.  We were literally making the space cleaner and prettier!  I was very proud of us!!

This little buddy worked all day yesterday perfecting his grabber tool technique!

 

We found a couple of special things while we were out.  Well, I say “we” found them, but really one little helper did.  She seemed to find all of the weird stuff!  First she found a set of keys in a bush.  Then she found a lottery card (not a winner, drat).  And then she found the best thing of all – a wallet!!!

 

The finder of all of the weird things and her mother

The wallet was very clean and looked new, so it didn’t feel like it had been out there long.  There was no cash in it but the driver’s license, credit cards, and insurance card were still there.  When I got home, I posted in a large community Facebook group to try and find the owner.  We had his name, knew his age, and had his address (I just listed his name and age in the post, and said we had found something important of his). 

 

Before long I got a Facebook message.  A woman had tracked the man whose wallet we had down and gave me his address (which matched what was on the license) and his phone number.  We called him and wow, was he happy!!!  Turns out he moved recently and lives near us so he jumped in his car to come retrieve the wallet.  He asked what he could give as a reward for finding it and I told him no reward was needed, we were just happy to find the owner.

 

He came to get the wallet and is so sweet.  He explained that his wallet was stolen just today right out of his bag at a local 7-11.  The thief must’ve grabbed it, saw that it had no cash, and threw it.  We told him that a little girl had found it, and he was very grateful.  He even gifted her some sweet pajamas from the Washington Wizard’s basketball team.

 

Jon, reunited with his wallet

And here is a cool part, too.  He wants to join the street cleaning crew!!  We are technically full, but hey, I think we should make an exception and add him to the list, don’t you?  We gave him our social media links and the website info and he texted to say, “I appreciate the mission your group has and it is a blessing for me.”  Hey Jon, we are adding you to our list of volunteers, so get ready!

 

All in all, it was a very fun project.  In fact, David found it so fun that after we had come home, had a snack, and sorted out the recycling from what we picked up, he went BACK and cleaned up some more on a street we hadn’t even adopted.  He had noticed some garbage in a retention pond area and wanted to tidy it up.  He even picked up a CAR BUMPER (add that to the list of odd items we found…).

 

First round of cleaning – done!  We will be back in a couple of months for round two.  Until then – PLEASE DON’T LITTER!!  Be kind to Mother Earth!

 

 

David in action

So much to pick up

Just SOME of the garbage we cleaned up

John was quite happy to pick up the loaned 
buckets from the county

Forward... That's a Good Way to Go. Forward

I don’t share their names.  Never share their names. 

I typically don’t share a gender.  Because really, why does gender matter anyway? And also, out of respect.  Nothing that might make you, the reader, identify the person in the story.

But today – today I feel I must share the gender.

Because she is real.  She is sick.  And she is our neighbor.

My neighbor and yours – no matter where you live.

She is our neighbor .

I went outside to hang a coat up in Project Warmth, the winter program where we put out cold weather gear for passersby in need to take.  I heard the siren of an ambulance or fire truck, wasn’t sure which.  I didn’t pay much attention – emergency vehicles pass our busy home often.  It wasn’t until I walked around the corner and saw a man walking his dog that I took notice.  “I called them,” he said. 

I turned around and realized that the ambulance had stopped right across the street.  And I saw a fabric puddle of orange, black on brown on the sidewalk, with 2 EMTs standing over it.

“When I walked by the first time, she was sitting up, eating something,” the man with the dog told me.  “But now, now lying down…  I am not sure…”.

Fear shot through me.  Was she dead?  Just lying there on the sidewalk, right across from our house, dead? 

We both kept our distance out of respect and concern.  “I bet she got the food here at the pantry,” I told him.  “I don’t know, she had marshmallows or something…” he said.

Yes.  Marshmallows.  I had put a bag of mini marshmallows in the pantry last night right before bed.  It was a special treat, and I imagined whoever found it would be happy.

The pile of fabric moved.  The person sat up. 

She was alive.

“I need to go see if it is someone I know,” I told the man.  As I crossed, I heard an EMT tell her, “You can’t lay here.  People will worry.  They will think it is a medical emergency and keep calling 911.”

She was standing, coat hood on her head, dirty sleeping bag wrapped around.  But she was standing.

“Hey, would you like a cup of coffee?” I asked as I got close enough.

“No, no.  But hey, do you have any hot chocolate??  I have been wanting hot chocolate…”.

Of course!  The marshmallows.  She had been sitting eating the marshmallows, maybe dreaming of hot chocolate to go with them.

I ran home and quickly made a hot chocolate.  I squirted some whipped cream on it and rushed back outside hoping she was still there to get it.  She was there, but the ambulance had left.  Left her alone.  Alone, as I am sure she usually is.

I put the steaming cup of cocoa on a fence post, using it as a table.  “Here, it’s really hot, so be careful.  Would you like some soup?  I could bring you some.”

At first she said yes, but when I asked if she ate meat or not, she changed her mind.  “You know, I really don’t eat much.  Maybe just some crackers…”.

“I have crackers.  Anything else you need?  What size shoes do you wear?” I asked, looking down at her slippers with non-slip hospital socks wedged in them to try and make them fit.  She told me she was a size 6 to 6.5, and also asked for a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and black socks.  “I am not sure what I have, but I will bring some things,” I told her and came back home to look through the Project Warmth donations.

I collected 3 hoodies (none all black, but all warm), some leggings (not sweatpants, but black), some black long underwear pants, very warm winter socks, and the only adult boots I had – size 10.  I also made a basket of food choices – 2 kinds of crackers, granola bar, precooked pasta and precooked meatballs, homemade banana muffin (thank you kind neighbor for making those), fruit cup, applesauce cup, Go Go Squeezes, Goldfish crackers, raisins, protein shake, Gatorade, juice…  I tried to put in choices that someone who “doesn’t eat much” might be tempted by, knowing that she must eat.  I grabbed a new bag that zips and went back to the corner.

She was still standing.  Pacing.  She was obviously using, and whatever she was on made her have both energy (to pace) and mellowness (to lie down).  She had a scratch on her nose and chapped lips, but other than that no obvious injuries.

I laid the clothing choices out on the fence for her to see.  She picked 2 hoodies and the thermal pants.  She took the socks and the hat.  I held up the boots and explained they were too big, but they were all I had.  As we talked, a woman in an SUV pulled up to the red light and rolled down her window.  “What size shoes does she need??” she asked, having quickly accessed the situation.  “A size 7.  But all I have is a 10…”.  She sighed.  “I have a 9…”.  I thanked her and she drove off.

What a reminder that we all want to help.  All of us.  Every last one. 

We went through the food and drink choices and she took a few.  I packed them into the new bag with the clothes and zipped it all up. 

“Are you working with Path Forward?” I asked.  Path Forward is the local organization that works tirelessly to assist people on the streets.  They provide food, housing, and work to get people re-homed.

“Ahhh, forward…  That’s a good way to go…  Forward….” she said.

We all want to help. 

But sometimes there is NOTHING, absolutely nothing we can do.

And that is a hard fact to accept.

No amount of marshmallows or crackers or sweatpants or boots can make this situation better.  She is sick.  Has an addiction.  She is ill.

“Hey, what’s your name?” I asked before I left.  She told me.  I told her mine.  And I repeated hers out loud.

I repeated it as much to help me try and remember it and I did for her to HEAR IT being spoken.

She is still there.  It’s been an hour, and she is still there.  I can see her from our porch.  She is sitting – I am sure on the same soggy cardboard I saw up close. 

Only now, she has a new warm hoodie pulled up on her head.

And in her belly, hot chocolate and whipped cream.

Maybe some crackers.

Maybe some applesauce…

We all need the same things, every one of us.

We need food. 

Love.

Someone to care.

Community.

Warmth.

Safety.

And for someone to know our name.

For information on substance abuse resources available in Arlington, VA, call 571-302-0327

P.S. – Thank you to the stranger who stopped and asked for the shoe size.  I am quite certain that if I had said, “She needs a 9,” you would have pulled over and taken the shoes off your own feet to give.  Thank you to the man walking the dog who worried and cared enough to call the authorities to come check on the woman.  Thank you to those who donated food for the pantry - making it easy for me to run inside and prepare a cup of cocoa and get food options for her to choose from.  Thank you to people who dropped off winter clothing - giving her the dignity to make choices of what she would like.  And thank you to the friend who also saw the situation and took time to ring our doorbell to see if I knew there was a person in need so close by.  Thank you for listening to me and hugging me as I cried telling the story.  And thanks for encouraging me to write it.