Here on Earth Day, 2006, I'm thinking back to the seventies television that we had back on the first Earth Day. There were only three networks and maybe a grainy local station or two. Aluminum foil on the rabbit ear antenna. No reality shows. It was the Golden Age of the Public Service Announcement. Stations had to run these to keep their licenses. Still do, I think. Anyway, we learned great stuff: always buckle up, don't pick up Dad's smokes, don't play with blasting caps, don't make the Indian cry. That last one had had this great Indian dude, paddling his canoe on a polluted river, and then having trash thrown at him, and then the Indian starts to cry. The tagline was something like "People start pollution, people can stop it", but we'd just say "Don't make the Indian cry" (As an aside, I'm using the archaic term "Indian" because that's how we used to speak. The Indian was played by Iron Eyes Cody, and he was a genuine Native American. In that he was native to America. His parents came from Italy. They were Native Italians. Iron Eyes Cody was a great actor, and the best TV Indian since Frank DeKova). That commercial first aired in 1971, which was also the beginning of the annual Earth Day celebration. Obviously, it was memorable. But effective?

Gas is expensive, so I drive less and less. Remember that great line from Repo Man: "The more people drive, the stupider they become"? I can't afford to get much stupider. So, I walk a lot, especially in Old Takoma. We have a lot of trash, here. It's everywhere: bus stops, sidewalks, gutters, parks, you name it. Some of it is quite exotic, but most of it is just trifling put-it-in-the-can stuff. It would make Iron Eyes Cody cry. It should make you mad. It should make you want to pick it up. There are too many people who throw their trash from the car or leave their newspaper on the bench. They're not thinking. They're lost. Maybe they'll come back, but right now they're lost. It's sad. Think real hard about the type of community you would want to live in: Is your mental Main Street trashed? I doubt it. So let's get to work on the real one, and start thinking about what we're doing. Just think, and then pick up the other guy's trash. The guy who didn't think.

The Design Committee of Main Street Takoma is organizing a Clean Up Day on Saturday, May 6, from 9 AM to 1 PM. We'll be picking up other guys' trash. We'll be planting flowers and mulching beds, too. Two kinds of fun, no lines, no waiting. Everyone is invited, and we hope you can come. Gathering points will be 4th Street, NW (Triangle Park), Laurel Avenue, and Takoma Junction. Bring tools. There are some who have said that the city should pick up litter; that the state should plant flowers. What kind of thinking is that? The city and the state are busy. They do what they can. Please think about the Main Street that you want to have, and then help us fix it up a little. Don't make the Indian cry. Make him happy. Happy Earth Day, 1971 and 2006.
John Hume
Design Chair