According to Wikipedia the “law of unintended consequences” states that any purposeful action will produce some unintended consequences. I often find myself plagued by the repercussions of this law. Why just last weekend I committed mass homicide of the gold fish in my backyard pond. The water level was getting kind of low and I thought the fish would like some more room to maneuver. I proceeded to place the hose in the pond, turned on the water and moved on to other chores. About three hours later I remembered that I forgot to turn off the hose. I rushed out to find all twelve of my dear friends floating on their sides. I can tell you my kids were not happy campers but the good news is that I now will have the opportunity to rally our economy as I go to Wal-Mart to purchase more aquatic life for my backyard ecosystem.
Now take a look at the picture below. The photos below were taken last Sunday. The top photo is a house around the corner from my house. The one below was taken on Airport Road. The building materials from the bottom photo had been there ten full days as of last Sunday. Now here’s the real question… why do these people have the idea that it is acceptable to put this kind of trash out on the street? It is just foreign to me that folks will set anything out in front of their homes or on the street. But then again, the City has ALWAYS picked up whatever people set out with little or no consequences. To be clear, I have no concerns over the City providing bulk trash pickup services to the community. What concerns me is that by offering this service we have somehow communicated that the City will pick up whatever is set out, no matter what. Building materials with exposed nails from a gutted house can’t be what my Council brethren (and sister) were thinking of… or were they? Come to think of it this gives me an idea for a side business. I think I will call Killeen and tell them they can dump their trash in my front yard if they pay me half of what they pay to use our landfill.
Who’d a thought too much of Temple’s top-quality tap water would kill fish?
