My town is getting a trash lift.
The last few days, my neighbors have been grabbing trash bags and patrolling the streets in gaggles. The goal? To pick up the type of stuff that accumulates in the streets, and gives the place a less-than-German look.
Like most things in Mexico, when large groups are involved, the task is fun. The cleanup includes school kids in uniforms, men and women in service club shirts, and just plain neighbors.
And the laguna is not left out. Someone has hired a backhoe to come in and scoop out the tangle of vegetation and human trash that has accumulated over – who knows, how long?
The result is evident on the street. Pile after pile of vegetation and trash is piled on the frontage road. But it is a small down payment on what needs to be done. The backhoe has physical limitations. The bucket can only reach so far.
But just like the other volunteers, some people who live along the laguna have created their own clearance teams. The photograph at the top of this post shows the result of their work. They have used two kayaks to pull out even more vegetation than the backhoe.
The day I was there, I would have given the green award to the guy in the front of this kayak. He was grabbing water hyacinth as soon as it came within his grasp. I suspect it was almost as good as a piñata to him.
And for those of you who are wondering -- yes, this is the same body of water that harbors the crocodiles that hang out in my back yard.
