This is a special thing that happened today that blew me away....

[TinyEvel]

I usually never brag about my kids, but my 5-year old did something today that really made me proud and could maybe encourage others to step up, so here goes…

We live in a canyon, and there’s a scenic lookout off of Mulholland Drive on our way home. We stopped there yesterday to look at the sunset. Looking down off the shoulder, there was an alarming amount of garbage down the canyon. Fast food wrappers, bottles, plastic bags, etc. And at least 200 cigarette butts.

Smoking in the canyon is illegal, and the lack of rain has made this our worst fire season in over 30 years. Well, we’re looking out over all this and my daughter says, “dad, are you thinking what I’m thinking?

“What.”

“We should clean this up.”

So, this evening we went back with bags and gloves and picked up all the trash we safely could (two garbage bags worth) and put the cigarette butts in a Glad food storage bag.

Here’s the interesting part: as we got there and started picking up, some people were watching the sunset and seemed interested in what we were doing there. One of them, a rotund old fellow with a flowing beard as white as winter snow hinted “do they know who I am?”

My daughters began to whisper to each other, and suddenly got giddy that Santa Claus himself had taken a moment from his hard-earned vacation, to thank them for taking the initiative to help stop pollution.

We took the garbage home, but left the bag of butts tacked to the split rail fence in the overlook with a note inside reminding people how their smoking endangers the residents and wildlife of the canyon.

So, if there’s something in your community you don’t like, nobody’s stopping you from doing something about it. I see a lot of garbage on my bike rides through here. One person can’t fix it all, but maybe this one step we took will entice others to do the same.

(stepping off soap box now)

--TinyE

[TinyEvel]

Here's the man...

[TinyEvel]

The butts and note we left.

(CPers, please don't make our planet your ashtray. Smoke if you want to, but don't litter.)

[luv]

Kids can be so inspiring sometimes. Actually, a lot.

[Phobia]

Very cool. I try to do what I can in my community but I don't think I've done the garbage pickup thing for a very long time. The USMC kinda broke me of that because that's what we did on slow days. Heh.

My teenagers will be here for the summer soon and I think this would be a character building experience.

[CoMoChief]

Wow, that is Santa Claus!!!!!

[Phobia]

Awesome pics. That guy really does look like Kris Kringle. They'll remember that day for the rest of their lives.

[BigMeatballDave]

Thats awesome.

[DenverChief]

The USMC kinda broke me of that because that's what we did on slow days.

:banghead: I think that is every service's ole standby when there is literally nothing to do

[DenverChief]

BTW thanks for doing what you did, nothing irritates me more than a litter bug

[Pitt Gorilla]

Good Lord, that WAS Santa.

[KcMizzou]

The butts and note we left.

(CPers, please don't make our planet your ashtray. Smoke if you want to, but don't litter.)Heh.. I do smoke, but I learned that lesson long ago.

At 16 I had an after school job as a "porter" at a car dealership. One of my duties was to sweep up the lot, near the building. As I was doing that, a few of the prick salesmen would throw a cig on the ground and step on it... while standing literally two feet from an ashtray.

I've found that car salesmen are generally assholes, though. (Brillaint deduction, eh?)

No offense, fellas.

[Hammock Parties]

That's not Santa Claus. That's ****ing Richard Attenborough.

[TinyEvel]

That's not Santa Claus. That's ****ing Richard Attenborough.

Well, he gave us his biz card, so I can email him and ask. :)

[SPchief]

I hope "Santa" is extra generous this year. BTW good story.

[KurtCobain]

Did they get free muffins?

[ChiefaRoo]

Cute Kids Tiny E. :)

Don't let them near Santa's conversion van with the cardboard taped over the back windows though. He looked a little dodgy to me. j/k

[ROYC75]

Awesome deed you all did and a special Thanks To Kris Kringle.........

I agree with Phil, the kids will remember this on e for a long time.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[Chief Henry]

One cool story for sure. Your doing something RIGHT
with your kids for sure. Keep up the good work.

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Already working the convertible for the sweet 16th

[tooge]

Great story man. The time with your kids doing a great piece of service like that is priceless. The santa thing, just gravy.

[Chief Chief]

Did ya also remind Santa that he's no longer to dump his pipe residue in the canyon?

[Lzen]

Nice job, tiny. Great kid, btw.

[Jilly]

Thank You for doing that! It's nice to know that we aren't alone in trying to make the world a better place! I'm excited that kids seem to be more and more concerned about our world and passionate about changing it!

[jAZ]

Smoking in the canyon is illegal...

so, this evening we went back ... and put the cigarette butts in a Glad food storage bag.
...
We ... left the bag of butts tacked to the split rail fence in the overlook with a note inside reminding people how their smoking endangers the residents and wildlife of the canyon.
It is among the greatest displays of arrogance I continue to ever see. Smokers throwing away their burning trash.

They'll do it anywhere and everwhere. F-ck everyone and everything around them.

It pisses me off.

[cdcox]

I was at Starbucks yesterday (first time in months) and their compost pile was on fire. It was a small fire that the employee put out with a few buckiets of water. Apparently this has happened multiple times. It's been really dry here lately and a stray butt is enough to start a fire. I thought the whole episode was kind of bizzare.

[The Franchise]

Great story....great kids.

You'll have to make sure that when you give them gifts this year....you'll have to put a little something from "Santa" in their gifts thanking them for cleaning up.

[Bearcat]

The butts and note we left.

(CPers, please don't make our planet your ashtray. Smoke if you want to, but don't litter.)

Great picture! LMAO

You should put her on a billboard with a pile of butts on the ground behind her, with the caption "What the hell do you think you're doing?!?!"

ROFL

[Pitt Gorilla]

The butts and note we left.

(CPers, please don't make our planet your ashtray. Smoke if you want to, but don't litter.)Why do so many smokers seem to feel the need to litter?

[NewChief]

Why do so many smokers seem to feel the need to litter?

When I smoked readymade cigs, I walked around with a pocket full of butts almost all the time. Disgusting, but I spent so much time out in the woods, that there weren't usually ashtrays around. When I switched to rollies, I used biodegradeable papers and would field dress the entire remnants of the cigs. Looking back, that probably wasn't the best thing for the environment either, though.

Now I just spit a bunch of carcinogenic, brown goo out of my mouth at periodic intervals.

[luv]

Now I just spit a bunch of carcinogenic, brown goo out of my mouth at periodic intervals.
Ewwwww! That's even worse.

[go bo]

Why do so many smokers seem to feel the need to litter?ever since they quit putting ash trays in new cars, it is harder not to toss cigarette butts outside the car...

fortunately i quit tobacco some 20 years ago...

and there's no way i'm throwing away my butts (because i can always roll them into a new joint)...

now, the wife is another story altogether...

she almost always throws her butt out the window (her butt? somehow that doesn't sound right)...

but we live in a town where there's no real chance of huge fires like they have in ca...

soon we won't be able to breathe outside with all the fireworks going off around us...

but it's all good clean fun... (clean? didn't somebody say barak is "clean"? joe biden maby?)

[WARPARTY70]

TinyEvel ,Hatoffs to you and your girls
My wife and I love driving canyons all over La and would have done the same.
KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL!!!

[milkman]

The butts and note we left.

(CPers, please don't make our planet your ashtray. Smoke if you want to, but don't litter.)

You know, if I wasn't a person that disposes of my butts properly, I'd not only stand over that canyon and toss my butts in, I would take that bag and throw it into the canyon as well.

I understand what you're trying to accomplish, but in the end, I highly doubt that you actually accomplished anything.

People that do things like what you did here piss me off.

[Phobia]

You know, if I wasn't a person that disposes of my butts properly, I'd not only stand over that canyon and toss my butts in, I would take that bag and throw it into the canyon as well.

I understand what you're trying to accomplish, but in the end, I highly doubt that you actually accomplished anything.

People that do things like what you did here piss me off.

Little girls who want to make nature more beautiful piss you off? Okay then....

[milkman]

Little girls who want to make nature more beautiful piss you off? Okay then....

What I'm saying is that someone is going to see that and think "**** off"

They won't know that it was a little girl.

The post I quoted was the one with the pic of the baggie of butts with the sign.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

I was at Starbucks yesterday (first time in months) and their compost pile was on fire. It was a small fire that the employee put out with a few buckiets of water. Apparently this has happened multiple times. It's been really dry here lately and a stray butt is enough to start a fire. I thought the whole episode was kind of bizzare.
probably wasn't a cigarette...compost piles have been known to spontaneously combust as they generate a lot of heat inside.

[Pitt Gorilla]

You know, if I wasn't a person that disposes of my butts properly, I'd not only stand over that canyon and toss my butts in, I would take that bag and throw it into the canyon as well.

I understand what you're trying to accomplish, but in the end, I highly doubt that you actually accomplished anything.

People that do things like what you did here piss me off.Good Lord. What the f*ck is wrong with you?