It wasn't logistically possible for me to retrieve it, or I would have. I wondered what the balloons were for- were they meant to celebrate a birth, a birthday, a wedding shower, a graduation? Whatever their original purpose was, they were now in a place where they didn't belong. All I could do was to cross my fingers and hope that some wildlife didn't get tangled up in them. This isn't the first time I've seen balloons out on the trails- along with other manmade detritus like empty sports drink bottles, wrappers, and once, a Styrofoam football. I just don't understand this- if you brought it in, how hard can it be to bring it out?
Graduation had gone off without almost a hitch; the celebrations were festive. The Teenager, who is about to become the College Student after we go to orientation next week, was relieved that senior year- and all the decision making- was finally over. We were able to share the day with family and friends, and that made me happy. What didn't make me happy was the fight that we got to witness as we awaited the beginning of the graduation ceremony. Two grown people got into a verbal fight over saving seats that resulted in the police being called.
My opinion on this is that if there are 1,100 high school graduates and 9000 seats in the stadium, you don't get to save seats for 20 people. If Grandma and Grandpa are on their way and Grandma can't find her hearing aid so they're running late, that's understandable. But to get belligerent (and greedy) enough so that the cops have to be called at a high school graduation and then to sit there and make snarky comments- well, this was our family's special day too, and while those individuals certainly didn't destroy it, they definitely detracted from the celebration.
I was proud of the Son of Never Stops Eating, however- he sat, cheered for his sister when it was her turn, and didn't complain.
The Grandpa and Grandma of No were unable to come for the festivities because the Grandma of No's Alzheimer's has now progressed to the point where it is not possible for her to travel. I remembered how the Grandma of No would snuggle with her firstborn grandchild in the rocking chair, and play endless games of peekaboo. She would have loved seeing that peekaboo-loving infant walk across the stage to graduate high school. Alzheimer's sucks.
Then there are the reports coming from the border with Mexico about children being separated from their parents and taken away- far away. I've heard the response that if they don't want their children taken away from them, they shouldn't come. Taking children away from their parents is cruel. When I hear this I remember how the Teenager, at birth, had to stay at the hospital while I was discharged to go home, and my arms physically ached from not having my newborn in them. Cruelty does not make America great.
I know, this is a meandering, random post. I have quite a bit to be happy, or at least not-sad, about. But it is also hard, and frustrating, to see cruelty, to see hate, to see greed in action at a celebratory event, to witness the slow disintegration of a loved one, to find a bird strangled by the string of a balloon.
Today, on the trail, I ran across a fellow hiker/photographer. He told me his backpack was full of empty plastic bottles. He was picking them up to throw them in a trash can. I don't think he was looking for recognition. He was just doing it because it needed to be done. We had nature chat for a few minutes and went our separate ways down the trail.
For every balloon in the tree, perhaps there is someone picking up bottles. That gives me hope.
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