Thinking more about recycling...bear with me...I'll eventually make a point...
Lemme say upfront that I have a big ol' confession to make. I sometimes watch Reba reruns in the late afternoons. Not to pooh-pooh on anyone who was a fan of the episodes when they first came out, but Ms. McEntire herself has long rubbed me wrong. Yes, Reba is a fantastic singer, a great businesswoman, prolly even a fantastic human.
But...and this is picky, picky...she looks too much like a troll doll at some angles.
Seriously.
I'll duck while a few of you hurl your [glass/mug/half-lit cigarette] in my general direction. And I'll say right quick that Reba gal sure can sing.
Anyway, I started watching her recycled show about a year ago--I think when I was sick and couldn't get off the couch--and about when I realized that Oprah has jumped the shark. Yes, Oprah is a great humanitarian, a great businesswoman, prolly even a fantastic human.
But she reminds me too...okay, I'm just over her. I still read her magazine (she's great about showcasing wonderful women writers), but the show itself gets on my nerves.
Sorry, Oprah fans. Take a seat over with the Reba folks and accept my apologies. And remember that I only speak for myself.
Now where was I? Oh, yes. Reba. I think I like (this word is a real stretch, but it'll have to do) that show in part because it's set in Texas, they use corny, over-the-top accents, the family is non-traditional in a funky way (ex-wife befriends mistress/new wife and helps pregnant daughter and new teen hubby make their way in the world)...and it's pretty easy to follow the plot-line (plot? what plot? The show has a PLOT?) while making dinner.
Last night, after many weeks of opting for Hardball during Reba's usual time slot, I ditched MSNBC and made my way over to the CW to soak up some heavy Texas accents. And it was there that I encountered a public service ad by some twenty-something starlets. The perky trio--I think from One Tree Hill--informed me with great earnestness that a small stack of recycled newspaper (something like four feet, I think) was the equivalent of an entire pine tree.
Well, don't that beat all, y'all.
Sure, I was just whining about my poor recycling options earlier in the day, but suddenly the clouds parted, celestial angels started singing...or maybe that was Reba? Anyway, I suddenly felt...good again about my recycling efforts.
Glancing over at a stack of magazines (I'm an addict...I confess), I began to wonder how many trees that I've saved. And then I started to wonder...all those papers, all those magazines...sure, great. But what about books...does anyone ever think about BOOKS and how much paper/trees they use up? OMG, the BOOKS!?!?!?!
As is often the case with these moments of deep reflection, Tater Tot provided me a pleasurable distraction from my swirling vortex of despair. And I dropped that line of thought and switched off Reba.
But serendipity...ah, yes, it lay in wait.
Later in the evening, after Tater Tot had knocked out in the crib...I logged onto Digg and poked around. It was there, through an interesting turn of events, that I discovered Eco-Libris, an initiative through which one can "plant a tree for every book you read." Brilliant! So clever in fact that it's been written up at the Los Angeles Times site and received props from the United Nations. According to the site, 20 million trees are lost to the book publishing industry to serve the US market alone.
That seems important...worthwhile...worth informing people about. Maybe Reba could do "a very special" episode on the topic, with Oprah sporting a troll suit? It'd be for a good cause, after all.
And, heckfire, I'd watch it.
|