The Last Straw
by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter – but sometimes, it’s not. Just like “extra soft” toilet paper, there’s some things that are pure, ridiculous luxury, but still don’t seem to be going anywhere soon in this culture. So, attention and alternatives to the small things matter. Like plastic drinking straws.
They are at most eating establishments. Surprisingly, even my local co-op still has a straw-dispenser with plastic straws. I understand the child issue, but most of those kids, not old enough to drink out of a cup, come equipped with their own baby bottle or sippy thingy, so I can only conclude that there is a whole slew of us who, for some baffling reason, prefer to drink our beverages toddler style – through a straw. Are so many of us grown-ups really stuck in this “oral” stage of development?
I’d find it simply amusing if it wasn’t another single-use, unnecessary, wasteful habit which is creating more disposable, non-biodegradable, non-recyclable, full of chemicals, plastic Stuff. Then it becomes simply annoying.
If you really have to suck on something, there are a lot more interesting things to choose from, and as the drinks go, grow up or BYO (Bring Your Own). Yep, they have ‘em now – stainless steel and/or glass, reusable drinking straws. IdealBite turned me on to this, so here’s the link for more info., but if you ask me, any Stuff that is this needless, simply Sucks.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:50 am
And I thought I was the only one that cared about the damn straws…
March 13th, 2009 at 10:57 am
whew – so, I’m not all that crazy, or alone Nice to hear.
Thanks!
Tao
April 8th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Oh, come on now. Some of us love drinking through a straw. Especially cold drinks. Which is why I love my glass drinking straw that I carry with me everywhere. Maybe it is needless to you, and maybe you don’t have sensitive teeth, but is the opposite of “sucks” for me!
Beth
April 8th, 2009 at 7:04 am
And yes, I’ve noticed that Mary Louise Parker always has a plastic straw sticking out of her mouth, too. And usually it’s attached to a plastic cup. Feh.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hey Beth – Good to hear from you and FakePlasticFish.com.
Since I’ve never had tooth sensitivities, I hadn’t considered this issue in regards to straw use…and yep, a BYO straw would be the answer to that. BUT, do you really think many people will go to that level considering that most can’t remember to bring the reusable grocery bag to the store?
I’m also personally turned off by ice cold drinks in general, so I’m still skeptical that we can’t do w/o them since well, at one point, we did somehow manage it. I’m glad you are carrying yours “everywhere”! Namaste. Tao