Early on Thursday morning, Lucas had his clear backpack filled with Matchbox cars strapped on, a Matchbox car carrying case filled in one hand and a tackle box, also filled with Matchbox cars in the other. An image of Fred Flintstone heading off to the rock quarry conjured in my mind as he paced around the living room, Noah crawling as fast as he could behind him. "No, Noah, my cars," Lucas saying all the way, as if he couldn't share even one with his baby brother.
I tried fruitlessly to count his collection of cars once. They seem to always be turning up. One under the couch, one in the car (the real one), I even found one in my dresser- I'm still not sure how the Camero got there. Picking the cars up after he's tucked in bed sometimes, cursing in the darkness as I step on them, I think back to my childhood collections. One in particular jumped to mind as Earth day approaches- my beloved bottle caps.
My father belonged to a Rod and Gun club when I was little and would occasionally bring my brother C.J. and me to meetings. We did our best to stay entertained but there are only so many things you can do while your dad is talking about guns or fishing or looking at whatevers and whosey-whatsits. C.J. and I took to picking up bottle caps that were lying around fence areas. Pockets stuffed with as many different caps as we could find and with dirt embedded fingernails we would return home with our collection. I liked all the different pictures and logos on the caps, I'm not sure what the appeal for my brother was and I know my father didn't appreciate them lying around.
Bottle caps shortly made their way from my heart to the trash.
If I still had them I'd probably turn them into some sort of funky craft project, a picture frame or maybe a mobile for Noah (I think some parents might make a stink about beer caps hanging over a sleeping baby though.) Or maybe I would sell them on EBay because maybe someone else loves my recycled treasures too.
Remember Earth day is this month. Whether you find yourself scooping up rocks for a collection, picking pennies up for luck, or just find yourself being a good "do bee" by throwing away litter, remember that Earth is our greatest treasure.
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