Should we, could we, is it really ok to ask your friends/family to be more Green? As we discover new ways of conservation and create new habits in our daily lives, it is a natural desire to want to share this information and inspiration with the people close to us. It’s not about judging, it’s about creating hope for the future and shedding light on some things that are not only simple, but feel so good in the long run. Well, if I’ve ever hesitated to speak out before, I won’t again - here’s why:

Hi, Tracey (and Jerry),
Thanks for a wonderful evening. It was so great to see you and get caught up on your recent adventures.

Tracey, I had a small epiphany this morning that I want to share. This is probably more information than you’d want to know about me, but here goes…

Anne, my ex-wife, is an obsessive recycler…much to her credit. I’ve been recycling for many years, ever since West Hurley (the little Hudson Valley town where I lived for almost forty years) instituted a serious recycling program. But I never progressed as far as using non-disposable shopping bags. Anne did; she had a veritable armada of cloth bags, and I was unenlightened enough to be bugged when a checkout person had to reset a scanner to allow for the weight of the bag…plus the aggravation of schlepping the cloth bags everywhere when we went out. I just never got with the program of cloth bags.

So I’ve been a chronic offender, consuming and disposing of countless plastic bags for no good reason. Pretty pitiful, right?

That has all changed now. My sweet Tracey and my dear Jerry gave me a cloth bag, and now I will
use it every chance I get…because it’s the right thing to do…and partly because even though I’m a slow study sometimes, I am educable…and mainly because I’m honoring two people whom I love!
Thanks, you two…for being such a wonderful and joyous part of my life.

Much love,
Chuck