Burn Barrels

I can remember one of the hi-lites of visiting my grandmother and grandfather when I was young was the privilege of burning the garbage. It seemed a serious responsibility that they easily gave and I eagerly accepted. I felt like someone was trusting me with something important and it was fun.

At about age 12, I started questioning this practice in my mind as the garbage included plastic. By age 16, I had accepted the fact that my grandparents weren't perfect and that perhaps I knew something that they didn't but should know. Nervously, I told my grandparents that burning plastic was a bad idea and why.

Didn't seem to faze them much.

But 30 years later, their outdoor brick oven that was used for burning garbage has finally disappeared. Taken to the ground by time and incineration. There is still charred debris settled around the base that was built into the ground. I picked up some of the ash from that era and used it to pack a hole for a post, thinking that perhaps it is best discarded back to the earth. I'm not so sure I did the right thing. And as I write this, I'm more sure it should have gone to the local landfill. But even that doesn't seem completely correct.

The picture above is a blurry rendition of a neighbor burning garbage this past week. It's been illegal to burn garbage for a few years and Dubois County actually had an amnesty program where people could turn in their 'burn barrels' without penalty. But there are people, like my neighbors, who still burn some of their garbage.

It's fairly ironic that one of them works for the county health department.

But even as I write this, I DO remember that I drove to school today...and will drive tomorrow and probably the day after and the day after and...