Clean Up Your Act

I am surrounded by such beauty living in Costa Rica, a naturally green country. But it's hard to notice all the beauty when I am also surrounded by so much filth, grime and pollution.

There are black waves of smoke emitted from buses, trucks, cars and vans daily... I literally have to cover my nose and mouth as they sometimes pass me by to stop myself from breathing in the toxins.

There is graffiti everywhere, and some of it ain't that pretty... fugly writings on church buildings and private properties. Old and dilapidated buildings that need care; houses so old they're falling to pieces. And dog shit every where you step! Not to mention the trash on the side of the roads and in rivers, piled up almost 2 stories high. In such a beautiful, green and natural country, why are the people so nasty?

Clean up after your dog shit. Please! I wish Costa Rica would institute a new law dictating that owners must clean up after their dogs take a dump on the streets. Please don't leave it for me or my kids to step in. I've been a victim of dog shit one too many times, on my shoe or my stroller wheel. It's a pain in the ass to wipe off. I can't look 2 feet in any direction without seeing dog poop, and it's not only disgusting, it's distasteful. Take pride in your town and your country and clean it up!

Get your cars, trucks, vans and buses checked with an emissions tests. According to Wikipedia.com: Automobile emissions control is the study and practice of reducing the polluting emissions produced by automobiles. That black smoke can't be healthy for the environment or for the people. It should be illegal to drive around emitting all that toxic smoke in the air, yet people still do it, buses being the biggest polluters of all. Change your filters, clean up your engines and drive healthier.

Graffiti is nice, when done well. And if you have permission, have at it. But don't go around writing and defacing public or private property just for the hell of it. A nice mural is fine, paintings and pictures and positive words that uplift are A -OK. But dammit, TLC has already been passed, stopped writing about it on other peoples walls and buildings. And stop with the derogatory remarks towards other people and races. Give it a rest already and clean up the negativity.

Old houses that are in need of repair need to be repaired. I understand if the funds aren't there for an individual but what about government buildings that are just an eye- sore to look at. Find it in your budget to get these buildings some much needed TLC. And if you can find it in your budget and your hearts to help out those people who need help fixing their homes, help! Costa Rica shouldn't be littered with ragged Ann looking houses, held together with zinc and scotch tape. It doesn't take much (time or money) to help build a nice one room HOUSE; not a shack. Slap some fresh paint on those hap-hazard looking buildings and ask for volunteers to make them look beautiful.

And as for the trash 'issue'... people are just down right lazy and nasty! There are trash 'baskets' practically everywhere... almost every house has an iron-made trash receptacle out front on the sidewalks to put their trash in; no need to have so much of it on the sides of streets and in the gutters.

Rivers are meant for rocks and water, not old rubber boots and barbie dolls. Trash piled high on the side of the road should be carted away ASAP... there are trash days (twice a day where I live) and a HUGE garbage truck for this purpose. Don't be lazy, clean it up! Do you want a country filled with filth or a country that is clean and beautiful.

I just about cried when I went to visit a river near San Carlos, only to find just above this beautifully clean wonder of mother nature, a pile of trash that included not just food wastes but household wastes as well, clothes, shoes and the like. Why would you do that to your town, your country! Why not go that extra mile and keep your surroundings clean? Take the time to care... organize clean up days. If you want to be proud of where you live, you have to want to make sure where you live is taken care of. The parks are in need of up-keep (although more than just trash pick up, they need to be repaired in a bad way...but that's another post). Kids deserve to grow up in an area filled with love, from caring neighbors who spent the time to keep it clean.

There is no need for me to walk around and only focus on the negative, yet it's hard not to when you see how very little some people care about their environment.

Please, people, take some time and CLEAN IT UP! We all deserve so much better.