On the news tonight, I heard that the Indiana Planned Parenthood is offering gift certificates for the holidays. Some people are crapping their pants about it, and saying “Gift certificates for abortions! That’s horrible!” Planned Parenthood is saying “with the economy so bad, people are having to choose whether to eat, or heat their house. We want people to have the option to go get their health screened for free.” They also added that less than 5% of their services are abortions. The crazy anti-PP lady said that it was crazy to offer free abortions on the day that celebrates Baby Jesus.
I believe that these gift certificates are a moderately good idea. I honestly don’t know who you would give a PP gift to…. I don’t know how I would feel if I got one from my parents. I’d honestly be a little confused, I think.
I do, however, absolutely love Planned Parenthood. I would love to work for them (my mom feels the same way!). I would love to do abortion counseling, or just counseling young women on their options for birth control, or even just other issues that women face.
In other news, because of the closure of my gym for holidays (cause it’s connected to the college, so it is going to be closed a lot during winter break - dammit) on Thanksgiving, and the Saturday after, the gym was closed, and I was forced to face the cold weather and run outside. I have a usual two mile route that I do, but I haven’t done it in a while since I’ve been at the gym.
Anyway, I headed out Rindge Road, and towards the end of the road, I started to notice all of the trash that had accumulated on the road again. This made me very, very angry. When I started picking up trash in the past, it was my daily running that made me realize how bad the trash was. My very first clean up was on Rindge Road, back in mid October. I hadn’t been running in the street, so I didn’t notice the trash.
Rindge Road is a pretty long road, at one end is McKay school, and there aren’t any houses until the very other end of the road, about a mile down. (See photo for eye-popping graphics) Most of the trash that I noticed was up near the houses! Not in their yard, but in close proximity to their house. Close enough where if the inhabitants of the house ever went on a walk, they would be disgusted by the trash in their “neighborhood.”
So here’s what I was thinking. I was thinking about doing a “Help Robin Pick Up Trash This Week,” and ask all of my friends, family, and anonymous blog readers to pick up trash. You don’t have to live in Fitchburg, or do it every day. But take a moment, and pick up a good amount of trash. A whole bag, if you will.
I was thinking that I would make up posters to give to these people who live at the end of Rindge Road. On this sheet, I would tell them who I am, a local college student who also lives nearby, and runs along their road. I would explain my goal (cleaning up my town/neighborhood), and also provide them with pictures of the trash I’ve picked up in the past. Then, I would ask them to please help me, and to go outside their homes (they don’t have to go that far, the trash is RIGHT THERE), and please help me with the task of picking up this trash.
What do you guys think? How would you feel if a stranger left a flyer like that in your door? Would you be annoyed? Pleased? Thankful there are caring people in the world?
Would you help and pick up the trash?
Do you think it being holiday season has any effect on what you’d do?
If I DO do this, I would want to do it before it snows a lot.
Oh, and tomorrow, I would like to write about the quote “The best things in life aren’t things.” Remind me!
