Y'all might remember my pretensions to being earth friendly. I think a few of you were around for the hemp wearing phase, and might remember my endless lentil salads as I tried to eat for a small planet. Or you were around for the Laurel's Kitchen era, the no car period, and the reclaimed and scavenged food periods. I'm very sorry if you were. That's more than any friend should have to stand.
It was harder to keep up my actions in Redding. There's no damn Co-op here, and everywhere requires ten minutes in the car. Still, I kept the faith- starting a little garden out back, supporting the farmer's market. car pooling to work (We lived with a young woman for whom I had very limited tolerance just because I was always assured a ride to work.) Sure Señor C kept secretly throwing my compost scraps into the garbage when he thought I wasn't looking. Sure, I had to buy a second car when our last roommate moved away. What matters is that I was trying.
During the weeks of fire, I was working sixteen hours on, eight hours off. It was sweltering, and I laid panting and trying to sleep in the tiny barracks, thermostat at the approved 84°. I drove endless loads of cargo along tiny mountain roads with the windows down, breathing in the sweet carcinogens. After I got off work, I wandered through the office, turning off lights in unoccupied rooms. Greener than thou? Certainly.
I drove a huge truck from Coffee Creek to Redding on Jorge's birthday. We met for a quick lunch- the first time we'd seen each other in days- and then I drove down to the Anderson helibase. I arrived and found that the order for the next three days of MREs had not been filled, and drove to our house to wait for a couple of hours.
After my 2.5 hours of sweltering car, imagine how pleased I was to find the house a clement 72°, completely empty, every light on, and two windows open.
So as long as I live with Señor C, (forever!) fuck being green. I have no hope of changing his essential nature.
I secretly put the carefully separated recyclables into the ordinary garbage today. That's what brought this little rant on. I AM THE PROBLEM NOW, CONQUISTADOR! MWAHAHAHA!
1 comment:
Your green efforts offset his bad habits. In the end, it evens out.
No matter how many times I loudly proclaim "flex your power" and flick switches, stubborn roommates still seem to leave the bathroom light on all night. Maybe they're just afraid of monsters.
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