A River Walk
A few begin on their own. Everyone, it seems, believes trash is thrown on his street. So after discussing and thrashing over the topic, Amigos rallied.
We met at the plaza on Wednesday and Friday of the first week in June. Manuel and David had empty barrels in their trucks.
We marched down Calle La Venida to the river and began. Delia and Jacque collected the recyclable plastic, glass, and aluminum. The others collected the rest of the garbage, putting it into five gallon buckets and then dumping the buckets into the barrels. The efficiencies of the group encouraged everyone to separate the recyclables and soon, we were all busy collecting trash. Mario’s singing hello inspired everyone to pause and smile when he arrived to help.
When six barrels were filled, David drove them to the garbage trucks and returned for the Amigos volunteers to refill them. Yajaira found a discarded set of cow horns and set it aside for a friend. Lupita brought two boys from her street who raced to pick up the scattered trash and made a game of smashing plastic bottles. Manuel used an extension arm with pinchers instead of the gloves some wore. Ann, a new property owner in Lo de Marcos, bent to the task and rarely came up for air.
Juan joined the group with information about Rogelio Parra’s offer to bury the construction waste. The Amigos goal was to collect the trash and allow the combustible construction materials to do their thing underground. Juan is coordinating the work with Parra.
Two hours passed quickly and we all drank eagerly from the fresh water Manuel provided. Manuel and David hauled 18 barrels of trash to the garbage trucks. David and Jacque took six large plastic bags of plastic and two bags of glass to the recycle center in San Pancho. It was a satisfying day.
We reconvened in the river bed on Friday morning. Working alone, Yajaira filled four bags, recleaning the river we had done on Wednesday. Annie brought her dog Bala, a great walking companion.
Many local people passed by -- on foot, in cars, or on horseback and evidenced our silent advertising. The children of the kindergarten posted signs around their school supporting a clean environment. Coincidence? Synchronicity? Great minds thinking alike? The more serious dump spots in the river bed were attacked, and we again filled 18 large barrels of trash. Four trash bags of plastic and one bag of glass were harvested for recycling.
As Manuel and David took their last load of full barrels to the garbage trucks, the rest of us walked home, companions in good work. Yajaira, Annie, and Bala walked back to town and Delia and Jacque back to the hills. Some call this work ‘cleaning the world’ and others call it ‘saving the environment’. Whatever name is used, Amigos de Lo de Marcos is answering the call.
jg
Viva Los Amigos
