No. Not you Bubba Shrimp, I mean the subject of this message in the most generic way.

The other Bubba; I want to share something with you.

Remember when you were coming out of the forest Saturday with your bow and a turkey over each shoulder and you found me in my sea kayak beside your boat picking beer cans out of the river?

You got all huffy - and even pretty rude, when I asked you politely to be more careful in the future.

Well, I just wanted to share with you something that 30 or so people independently established this weekend. Please, feel free to draw your own conclusions from it:

St. Joe Island State Park just hosted the second joint cleanup of the Apalachicola River Paddling Trail System. It stems from the confluence with the Brothers River and the Apalachicola on South through almost uncountable marshes, swamps, and tributaries to the Gulf of Mexico.

The individual trails ranged from a 4 hour paddle to a three day two night "God's Own Wilderness" trip even the Crocodile Hunter wouldn't make without a big gun - cocked and locked.

Well, here is what we found out: After almost three years of use the paddle trails netted virtually no garbage what so ever. In fact most areas ONLY accessible by paddlecraft were 100% pristine.

While on one sand bar alone with dirt road access over 5000 (yes, that is right FIVE THOUSAND) beer bottles were recovered from a single 'swimmin hole' nobody EXCEPT you and your friends could have possibly known how to get to.

It was virtually exclusively at these same types of places all the TV's, auto parts, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, clothing, food, plastic (too much and too many types to describe), and general garbage was recovered.

Bubba, I was hoping that you might want to think about that.

 

Problem is "Bubba" doesn't care one bit, which is why he does this in the first place. Especially since people like us are going to clean up after him. I am involved in a yearly week long clean up on the Appalachian Trail and it's quite enlivening, let alone fulfilling for the satisfaction of keeping America actually the Beautiful place it is. There is much relevance and evidence behind that song that the "Bubba"s just can't seem to grasp. I will say though, that "Bubba" is not nearly usually of the hunter ilk. Most of the cleanups I have been on are filled with hunters. They love the outdoors just as much as us adventurers. I've never understood so what's so damn hard about bringing a trashbag to keep your junk in. But,,, that's me

 

Holy COW. I didn't realize the significance my story placed on the hunter per-se. But I can see how that was easily the conclusion given what I actually wrote.

Now, please allow me to clear that up.

During my recitation I mentally discounted the fact that he was a HUNTER. The reason is in my experience the vast majoity of the hunters I have run across in my lifetime are exceptionally conservation minded individuals.

Who better than the lifeguard to know pee in the pool is not good for you?

I should have said "Redneck" (ON EDIT: It Is REALLY hard to find the word that fits here!!). But the truth is - I am one. I'm just a progressive Redneck. I's kinda hard to throw stones at your brother ya know .

BTW, In case you think this was jast another humdrum day on the water check out this genuine officially documented ORIGINAL St. Marks Sea Cow:

http://www.paddletally.org/photos/seacow.jpg

Thanks, but I'll take my chances with the 'gators:-staun

 

I figured you didn't mean specifically hunters, which is why I said as such. I can't even put a "group name" to the practice, because I've seen em all do it. It's a personality trait which I subscribe to a basic ignorance and non-caring of the world in which you live. That's a great picture. Who ever said bovines don't enjoy a good swim every now and then?

 

Hey I have it: "Moron".

Yup. That'll do it. But I still have to say I is one - just a progressive one.

Yea, sometimes during the summer there are whole . . swarms, of them!

http://www.paddletally.org/photos/wildlife.jpg

 

That's the photo from the family reunion.

What do you mean you are one of these Idiots?? You mean to imply that you sometimes are guilty of these types of acts? I guess one that is trying to not be one of these Fools is better than one who does not care at all,,, just Try Harder

 

Yea, I have been a real MORON too. But I'm getting smarter in baby steps.

Funny thing about getting older; you begin to realize how little you know about EVERYTHING.

Me, I'm lucky as hell; I have been haunted (literally) by words I heard very young in life. An old dead guy named Will Rogers said them:

"I sure wish I knew as much at 50, as I did at 20."

That really made an impression on me. See, eveything I had been hearing up until that point (and ever since) said clearly that the older we get the smarter we get. Mostly the same sources (read: authority) said this Will Rogers guy was pretty darned smart, too.

It took a long time to clear this up. In fact, 45+ years into this journey the fog is just beginning to clear, ever so slowly. He was right - and so were those folks that said he was pretty smart.

FWIW.

 

Well I am a proud southern and I totally understand. Those who leaves thousands of bottles and junk all over the prettiest country ya'll have ever seen are plain and simply called "trash" themselves. Maybe yankee is a better word. Just kidding

 

Which reminds me of a joke I heard once:

Question: What is the difference between a Yankee and a Damned Yankee?

Answer: The latter stays down here.

 

mudn69: i think you and me would be alright. i like your truck by the way, and your front tag on it too

 

I know what ya mean! I do a LOT of fishing and spend a lot of time on my boat.
Never fails, I always end up cleaning up the mess from some other schmuck. At the ramp, in the lot, on the river & lake, all over the shore, reeling in garbage while fishing.

None of it makes sense to me. How hard is it? Now, I don't have a huge boat, but I can still make space to toss a garbage bag. After all, I found space to bring it with me, gotta be room for it to come back. Yet I watch people tossing cans, bottles, junk of every kind, overboard. Drives me nuts. It's that "I'm done with it, and I don't own this place" mentality. Slobs.

And who do I see creating the messes most in my area... Out of town folks who appear with their pretty new boats, attached to brand new trucks, and no idea what they're doing. Almost never fails, within an hour, I can find them out on the river, partying away, and making a mess.

 

Somebody said that Bubba Shrimp is 'interviewing' girls with VLB's...(very large *****)... to work at his new, Bubba's Nekkid Tanning Saloon on The Beach. Course , Bubba has appointed himself as the "Master Rubber"....cause nobody knows how put on the Tanning Oil like ole bubba. Bubba got his certificate from the Jeb Bush School of Massageology.....so we know that he knows what he's adoin. Go gettum' Bubba and rubbem' east to west and north to south , just don't linger at Atlanta or you might get in trouble.......s.kuteman