Is it just me?

    I've been mentally filing away things that I want to blurt out here, so today's your lucky day.  I'm going to let loose with a few thoughts and if you feel the same way or even have a different point of view, I'd love to hear it.

    My husband and I have been doing a lot of walking these past few weeks.  I'm hoping that the Achilles Tendon issue I suffered from for months is now behind me.  LOL.  Little humor there.  Or not.  Anyway, I notice things when I'm outside, trying to enjoy peace and nature.  One thing I've noticed is that some people don't know when to be quiet.  Whooping it up and SHOUTING to the point where *everyone* in the entire park can hear you may be too loud. 

     It's just a thought, as I say, but SOME people MAY be there to inhale some serenity as well as the fresh air.  I just know these are the same individuals who stand in front of the cottage cheese in the grocery store, oblivious to the fact that the store did not open their doors that day to accomodate only them.  But I digress....

     Back on the trail, a woman walks ahead of us.  I notice that she's talking on her mobile phone and the conversation appears to be a very lengthy one.  I ponder (aloud) how our society has changed so much with the advent of technology, and how, in my opinion, not all of that change has been for the best.  Maybe it's me.  Maybe I'm just old and out of touch, because my cell phone was back in the car.  Now that I think about it, I probably should carry it on me, in case of emergency.  However, if it rang, it had better BE an emergency because I'm taking a minute (or 45) for myself.  It's not just about taking "me" time, though, it's also called being considerate of others.  Maybe others don't want to hear YOUR conversation.
    I find it stupifying that people won't put down their cell phone for a nature hike but they think nothing of tossing their water/soda bottle/cup right where they took their last sip.  Evidently it's not that they want their hands free...
    Providing refuse cans isn't the issue either.  We've all seen waste thrown right NEXT to a garbage can.  Or in a beautiful babbling brook, which would have been a perfect photo opportunity, had someone had a little more consideration.  While horseback riding along a Carribean beach once, I was utterly shocked at the volume of plastic water bottles and various other refuse that had washed ashore.  As the tour guide said, once discarded, it ends up someplace.
     It was impossible to ignore; it shattered the otherwise gorgeous setting but also deeply moved me.  To this day, I can't stand to see littering; I know that somewhere, someone else's view is being distorted.