Murder in the City, Scrapcycle, Devils Lettuce, A Walrus Named Jimmy

"It's unexpectedly painful to have become a pronoun."
— Robin Black 

High five, you made it to Friday! How was your week? Did you kill it or get killed? I’m going with killed it; I stabbed it, poured gasoline on it, lit it on fire, and watched it burn. That is how I feel about this week’s tasks; I murdered them. It was an exciting day yesterday; I went up and hung out with my brother in the morning; I had some things to review; it was an excellent meeting; I love my brother.

I left there and met an old friend from 15 years ago. Bob and I have kept in touch over the years; he was a technology kid with a food truck; we did some business together, and after all this time will now and then check-in. He is a fascinating man with a new gig that I thought might need some attention.

Bob started a company called scrapcycle.org. It’s a simple idea, Bob and his family give you a five-gallon bucket, you put your food scraps in there, and every two weeks, he picks up the bucket. He and his family then turn that waste into compost that his customers can use.

People always want to talk about a good game for the environment, but few are willing to do anything. Bob has made it easy for every person to do their small part. Sign up, and each season, you can get some magical compost to grow whatever you choose to grow. If you like tomatoes, grow tomatoes; if you like corn, grow corn, and if you like devil’s lettuce, use your compost to grow devil’s lettuce.

I like little powerful ideas, and this is one of them. Please, if you are in the Muncie, Indiana area, visit scrapcycle.org and sign up and begin using your leftover food to help save mother earth.

Here are Bob’s plans for 2022:

·         Distribute 2021 compost

·         Collect 30 tons of raw materials - 2.5 tons per month

·         Increase members to 500

·         Increase donations to $2500 / mo

·         Increase member donation participation to at least 60%

·         Use of the new site by June

·         Expand to Daleville, Chesterfield, Albany, Gaston

·         Personalized member stats ( "You've composted XX pounds in 2022" )

Here are some facts I learned during our chat:

Composting is a natural process that creates fewer greenhouse gases than when the material goes into a landfill.

About 40% of an average household’s waste can be composted. Anything that was a plant at some point can be composted. Cardboard, paper, plant, food scraps, and much more.

Scrapcycle gives a bucket, and you fill it up with scraps. You set it out by your curb every two weeks, and Scrapcycle will empty its contents.

On average, every five pounds of composted organic waste prevents the same amount of greenhouse gas creation as burning one gallon of gas; every little bit helps.

It’s such a good idea; I think that every community needs a Bob; if we start doing this across the country, it will impact our ability to control climate change, which worries some and others think is a farce. We went solar on our home last year; I thought, why not try a little part to help our earth heal. Solar is expensive, but Scrapcycle is a donation-based service.

I left Bob and met another friend, Ben. I’ve not seen Ben in a while; we met at Starbucks and caught up. He’s a rock-solid part of the Monroe Central community, married the daughter of one of my past teammates, and is a great father. We talked about the nuance of society and how things seem a little weird right now; he has his ideas and has some concerns about mandating the vaxing of children.

I left there and met another long-time friend and client, Eric. Eric has a law practice in Muncie; he’s very successful, works in the Music, Industry and even has his own IMDB profile for his work on a television show. A great father and husband, he formerly ran for office.

After spending time with Eric and headed home, I met my wife; we ate a little caught up about our days, watched some naked robots, and then went to bed. We are now hitting the bed at 9:30 each night, which allows for a minimum of 7 hours, but I can clock 8 or 9 if my schedule allows. This morning I got up at 6:00, so I had eight hours of fantastic sleep by my math.

I’ve got some work to do this morning, then I’ve got my men’s group at 9:30, I’ve got some virtual meetings this afternoon, and I will ease into the weekend. We have some teammates joining us tomorrow, then connecting with friends Saturday night, and then meeting my family to see our grandkid.

My pup is chilling on the couch, and her best friend Joleen the cat is snuggled up with her; Parker wants to protect Joleen when she is not biting her face.  The two animals seem to love each other genuinely; it’s nice to have so much love in our little house.  

This is your reminder that you can do, be, see, and say anything you wish. If you want to be a girl, be a girl; if you’re going to be a boy, be a boy, or be a walrus named Jimmy; well, as Rocky Balboa said to Mr. T, “go for it!”  We live in a society where pronouns are weighted much more than your service to your world; if you have your pronouns predominately displayed, you’ll get a pass from the woke brigade. The sanctity of human life has been lost; are you paying attention?  

"It's unexpectedly painful to have become a pronoun."
— Robin Black