Keeping up with Us

Rant Warning

I am so sick of seeing cigarette butts everywhere! They're on the sidewalk in front of our apartment, they're in the parking lot at our complex, the grocery store, and restaurants. They're in front of Target, Michael's, and JCPenney. They cover the sides of the road at just about every intersection in the area! They litter the sides of the area walking trail, the tennis courts, even the complex swimming pool! When did ashtrays become extinct? I can remember as a little girl...probably 4 or 5 years old, spending the summer with my grandparents in Denver, CO. They both smoked, and still do. Grandma had an ashtray on each end table, the coffee table, the patio table, even on the kitchen table sometimes! She had extra ashtrays in her car, too! Never, I mean never did I ever see either of my grandparents drop a cigarette butt on the ground...at their home or anywhere in public! Fast forward 15 years...I had friends that smoked. They always disposed of their cigarette butts in trash cans if ashtrays weren't available! They would never dream of just dropping it on the ground in a parking lot or along a walkway. It has become such an annoyance to me that I've started calling people on it. The other day while stopped at a redlight, the guy beside me took one last puff on his lung destroyer and tossed it out the window. I rolled my window down and hollered over, "Did your car not come with an ashtray?" He flipped me off and drove away as the light turned green. A few weeks ago, I followed a lady in to Kohl's. As she approached the door, (which by the way, had a 'smoke station' cigarette trash can sitting beside it) she just dropped her cancer causing butt on the ground. I cleared my throat, "There is an ashtray about two feet from you", "So?" was her response. "So, are you just that lazy or do you not care that you're littering?" She also flipped me off and stormed into the store. And just today, while riding in the car with Mom on our way to the craft store, a lady standing outside of Bed, Bath, & Beyond puffing away as she silently kills herself and just before going back inside to work, she flicks her cigarette butt out into the parking lot right in front of us. I reached over and honked the horn (which by the way, it's actually against the law in the state of Missouri to honk the car horn if you're not the driver) the lady turned, shrugged her shoulders and walked away. What's wrong with people? Is this just something that's happening where we live, or are smokers everywhere this inconsiderate? It's bad enough that they're killing themselves, polluting the air around them, putting their family and friends in great risk of health problems, but to just toss their trash on the ground and walk (or drive) away without giving it a second thought? It's just beyond me!