I visited home in Philadelphia this weekend and stopped by my sledding hill, also known as Tommy’s Hill. I made a video last time.
This time I’ll just show pictures for quick scanning with commentary in the comments. First the most jarring image as a preview, can you see the “word” McDelivery? Someone had McDonald’s delivered, then littered the packaging.
Packaging from someone who had McDonald’s delivered. McDonald’s delivered must be one of the most pathetic signals of loss of values.
Consider getting McDonald’s delivered. What rock bottom of self-respect has this person dropped through? . . . Or rather has our society dropped through that this concept exists? It serves only to impoverish the poor and make more sick the already sick.
McDonald’s whole foundation is convenience. It was founded on not even having to leave your car. Yet that minimal effort was too much for this person, perhaps forgetting for hundreds of thousands of years, his or her human ancestors had to hunt and dig to eat. Instead, they had it delivered, as if the pollution and degradation of human dignity and of nature involved in factory farming wasn’t enough, they indulged in degrading yet more with extra packaging and driving.
Once you choose to do virtually nothing for what you stuff your maw with, you can choose among dozens, maybe hundreds of options of restaurants and cuisines. Yet you choose doof. What happened to our humanity?
People call me extreme for avoiding doof and packaged food. How is delivery and doof not among the most extreme sacrifices of humanity? How did choosing fresh fruits and vegetables become extreme?
My walk to my sledding hill
Looking down the block from home toward the park with Tommy’s HillAbout half the block closerApproaching Wissahickon Avenue. Stopped because looking down . . .Not yet at the park and the first litter: a toothbrush. A toothbrush! Why?Across Wissahickon Avenue.Up the small hlll into the parkA few yards in, and the first litter.Walking further into the parkI liked the texture of the fungus on this fallen tree.Another fallen log.Tommy’s mansion through the woods and across a clearing.The veteran memorial. My dad said he has never seen it untended in decades.The mansion.Nearer the mansion, remembering some of my times in the park in high school with my girlfriend, discovering love for the first time.A beehive. Actually two.Looking down the hill, the mansion behind me casting a shadow. What I’d give for snow, a Flexible Flyer, and a body forty years younger.Down the hill.More litter :(.I decided to go around the mansion. I’m not sure I ever ventured onto the other said I always approached from.What do you know? There’s a bench and picnic area.A lovely little step.Why are there broken shopping carts? I suppose the park workers who use the building or volunteers cleaned them from littering the park.Early buds.Looking down the hill again.Walking down the hill.Walking farther down the hill.Looking back up to the mansion from down the hill.Turning from the first part of the hill to approach the stream. I thought it was Wissahickon Creek, but learned yesterday it’s a tributary.Approaching the creek.Approaching the creek.Looking back up to the mansion through the trees.The brush near the creek that aren’t a problem when sledding through. The snow covers them over. Maybe there wasn’t enough snow this year to collapse them.Marshy ground near the stream.Looking at the stream.Looking upstream. Do you see the litter under the log?Looking downstream.In my third TEDx talk I described the rock laden with mica that sparkles called Wissahickon schist. The picture didn’t capture the sparkling, but this rosk looked sequined.More mica in this rock, not captured by the camera but I tried.Can you imagine the sparkling? It’s there.More litter in the creek, a plastic bag.Do you see the discarded bottle?More litter. I didn’t plan to pick up litter this time, but there was so much. My heart was breaking.I only collected litter for a couple minutes. I got plenty and felt like crying.The hardest part wasn’t picking up the litter, but walking away from the creek without picking up everything, but my hands were full.Thanks McDonald’s Kit Kat, Wawa, Pepsi, and other doof vendors. Also everyone who bought their doof. You sacrificed your health and money for their profits.After putting the trash from the creek in a can, I found more litter on Wissahickon Avenue walking back.Packaging from someone who had McDonald’s delivered. McDonald’s delivered must be one of the most pathetic signals of loss of values.
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