My 2024 resolution is to find a way to do one act of kindness each month that benefits my community.
The nice winter weather has been a blessing for outdoor walks with my husband. We take multiple routes around the neighborhood. One day we were walking on Shingle Creek Parkway between Humboldt and Fremont Avenues. Along this route, there is a section of property that is just grass and trees – great for children to run on or families to have a summer picnic on a blanket.
Unfortunately, there are also those random few people that choose to disrespect our public lands. This is where I found my chance for February’s community kindness act.
As we were walking, I saw something blue in the grass ahead of us. I was curious to see what it was. As we got closer, I realized there were lots of ‘blue somethings’ in the grass. I was only seeing the largest piece.
Someone had chosen to throw a beer bottle, likely from a vehicle, which had shattered on impact. The large piece I saw first was the glass pieces that were held together by the bottle’s label – about the size of a playing card. Sadly, there were lots of smaller pieces in the grass along 15-20 feet of sidewalk.
My first thought was about the families that walk along that section of Shingle Creek Parkway. This route could be used to get to Webber Park or Webber Library. The fact that the blue caught my eye so quickly set off concern for toddlers/children in the area that might think those blue pieces were candy or toys. We cut our walk short so that I could return home for a bag to pick up the pieces of glass.
Please don’t throw glass items into any public space. If you see someone do it, or see the pieces in your area, call it in to 311 or carefully clean it up by wearing gloves. And remind any children to never pick up anything outside and put it in their mouth. Small children can be so attracted to colorful items and might mistake it for candy.
Authors Note: I wish we had access to the forensic resources shown on TV (like NCIS) so that the culprit(s) could be held accountable. Yes, I know – it would never stand up in court without a witness. However, it will be helpful if our readers can protect the innocent children by reporting the hazard to 311.
If any readers want to share their acts of community kindness with the Camden Community News audience, send your story to CCN@tds.net and we will publish a few of those stories.