A gifted memory is something I do not posses. My brother, on the other hand, will remember how to find my great aunt’s apartment building, even if the last time we traveled there Reagan was president.
I can only remember a few events from when I was 10 years old or younger, and one of them was balloon day. All of the kindergarten classes were led outside, given balloons, and told to release them at the count of ten.
I looked up. An abstract Seurat of boldly colored balloons. And then they floated into a hundred directions. Apparently killing sea turtles, because the next year we were no longer allowed to send plastic into the air, as we were only 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
I of course didn’t want dolphins and fish and turtles to die, but that vision of carefree balloons traveling to the clouds made me happy. But I also think the rush came because I knew it was something our class wasn’t supposed to do.
I haven’t thought of that magical balloon day in years. But when I bought a six-pack of beers with hard plastic rings surrounding the necks, I thought about a change in my environmental consciousness.
80 and I picked up two flavors from Depot Street Brewing in a grocery store in Tennessee. The beer was okay, but I we were happy to buy local and I was fully intrigued by their funky red plastic holders. I tried to figure out the gimmick; it looks like they are reusable and there is a recycling program tied to returning the holders to the brewery (150 returns gets a drinker a free T-shirt).
I’m hoping to see more of this: local breweries leading the green revolution.