Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Birthdays, Balloons and Bad Habits

Today is Alma's birthday. I have not posted for the past few days because I was working hard finishing her song. I finished it just in time, although the bridge is still a little rough, thanks to my having made a last-minute modulation change (basically changing the key in mid-song to a new key). "One in a Million" is a song about what I find when I'm down at the beach and the fact that Alma is also one in a million. The song, I think it was safe to say, was a big hit and I'm going to keep working on it and try to figure out a way to record and post it here.

Speaking of birthdays, Alma and I walked down at the beach yesterday. One sure sign that spring has arrived is that we are starting to see balloons abandoned along the surf. Frequently these balloons are partially or wholly deflated with the colored ribbon still attached:


Although not the ardent environmentalist that Alma is, I get seriously pissed off when I see balloons that are polluting the beach. What morons would bring balloons down to the ocean only to abandon them, whence they threaten sea life and damage habitat? Often, parents throw birthday parties for their children at the beach. Think of the example those parents, unwittingly or no, set for their children. Other times, it is the ubiquitous quincenara (the coming-out 15th birthday party for Latinas). Again, what message are those young women on the cusp of adulthood receiving from their moronic parents?

I save my harshest scorn, however, for balloons with corporate logos:


What possible event could AT&T be having that required or suggested bringing bundles of balloons down close to the ocean? What idiot in AT&T's marketing department conjured up that brilliant scheme? One reason why pollution is so bad in this country is that corporations like AT&T do not have to pay the true costs of their pollution. When a company's emissions pollute the air, the company usually does not have to compensate citizens for damaging the common resource. (Economists call such common resources 'externalities'). In AT&T's case, it only has to pay for the balloons and the nitrogen that inflates them. It does not have to pay for any damage those abandoned balloons cause.

AT&T, you suck. Reminds me that our cell and internet service are currently with AT&T. I am out of contract on each so I think I will send them an email of complaint about the balloons and, if I'm not satisfied with the response, will switch our cell and interent carrier to a different provider.

1 comment:

  1. Wooo Hooo, you go husband, you tell those environmental offenders off! Thanks bunches, I hope you do send the email. I wish more people would put a little pressure on companies to be better citizens of the planet, that's a good birthday gift for me today too :)

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