Author: /u/MrEdmundT

(This post is about Galveston, but that sub is pretty quiet, and it applies to the other areas that I like to skate, so I hope it’s acceptable to post here)

Yesterday while I was skating along the seawall in Galveston, I decided to bring the grabber tool that I used during surgery recovery, and used it to to pick up trash. I threw away at least a trash bag’s worth of discarded masks, plastic and glass bottles, and even dirty diapers. About 45 minutes in I heard a loud metallic clicking sound coming from my skates and pulled over, thinking it was a loose bearing.

As if to say thanks for my trash pickup efforts, I found a rusted fish hook sunk about an inch into one of my wheels. 🤦‍♂️ Honestly, this is probably a best-case scenario, as my wheels neither bleed nor pop with puncture unlike most anything else that could have been impaled by a rusty fish hook, but it makes me wish that people would be more careful about picking up their trash in general, because that could have been a nightmare situation for anyone else.

I’m the type to pick up any trash I see, and I know there are a lot of us out there, but the pandemic has, understandably, made people hesitant to pick up stranger’s trash. Considered bringing gloves and a bag, or a grabber tool if you have it, next time you know you’ll be out and about! Face masks were the most pervasive trash culprit, and could theoretically spread the coronavirus, so I think it’s an important thing to me mindful of now. Let’s keep our city as clean as possible!