I've been meaning to write this for awhile and I just haven't sit down and concentrated enough on what I experienced. I'm still somewhat disgusted by the whole thing, and I actually questioned the human existence and what has happened to common courtesy. Then, I realized that I might be a part of the problem as well.  So what am I talking about?  Well it all began when my son Ethan and I decided to go over to McDonald Lake and walk around and feed the ducks.

It was a warm Sunday afternoon, and we haven't fed the ducks in awhile, so I gathered him up and we drove over to McDonald Lake which of course is located at 45th and Coulter.  We pulled up and parked and got out of the car.  We walked to the shore and waited for the ducks to come to us because well if you've ever fed the ducks and the geese you know they are always hungry.  We tried something new this time, we took corn to feed them instead of bread, because I read that bread really isn't good for the ducks.  I must say they LOVED the corn.

Ducks and geese
Photo by Lori Crofford
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As we are standing on the edge of the water I started looking around and noticing the massive amounts of trash.  Yes, it was windy and I understand in that area, the wind can pick up things and blow it around.  However, this wasn't all just blown in trash, it was a large amount of trash that was obviously left by people.  People who came out to enjoy the lake, but couldn't be bothered by picking up the mess they made while at the park.  Drink cups, empty water and drink bottles, food trash littered the entire area.  I was shocked at the amount of empty beer cases and cans that were just left.  Left for someone else to pick up.

Photo by Lori Crofford
Photo by Lori Crofford
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My son even noticed that it was bad and he was picking up empty bottles and pieces of trash.  "Mom, where did all this trash come from?"

Photo By Lori Crofford
Photo By Lori Crofford
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Photo by Lori Crofford
Photo by Lori Crofford
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I will say it kind of put a damper on our outing.  I was always taught to clean up after myself and to leave a place cleaner than I found it.  I have tried to teach the same to my son, and he is notorious for picking up trash when he sees it and disposing of it properly when we are out and about.  Earlier when I said that I might have been a part of the problem, we probably should have driven across the street and got some gloves and trash bags and picked up the nasty trash that was left at this beautiful park but we didn't.  We did pick up a few things and dropped them in the trash.

Photo by Lori Crofford
Photo by Lori Crofford
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As we are getting into the car after our visit Ethan said, "Mom, I'm bleeding."  Of course I asked him what happened and he said he walked by a empty can that had been busted opened and said it scraped his calf.  I immediately busted out the hand sanitizer and a napkin to clean it up until I could get home and clean it properly.

What gets me is that, if you are going to go to a local park and take food or drinks or even beer (which is illegal to have in an Amarillo Park anyway), then have the courtesy to clean up.  As the saying goes, "your mother doesn't work here, clean up after yourself.

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