Greasy Burgers

Watched the oil slick head for the coast and realized I should have become a vegetarian sooner. Welcome to my trail of convoluted logic along the path of perpetual growth. BP slicks up the Gulf of Mexico and I am glad I don’t eat burgers any more. Follow along. Follow the bouncing ball, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and don’t take any wooden nickels. I will connect the dots because it is something I do. Connecting the dots was what made me a vegetarian in the first place. Forget what the song says about sorry……..Hamburger is the hardest word. At least for this come to the party late, new wave embracing, spiritual whore, vegetarian.

I still like Hamburgers. There, I said it. Admitted it. Hamburgers still appeal. The smell of them. The memory of them. With Fries. Put a slice of Jersey tomato on it and get out of my way. Still lust a bit for them. Other meat is a take it or leave it lust. Hamburgers still call to me with a come hither, you know you remember, kinda appeal. Haven’t had one for a bunch of years but they were and are still loved. Just not enough to let oil wash up on the Gulf Coast.

Connected the dots, slower than I like to admit and with a stubborn streak that bordered on insanity, about what I eat and its effect on the environment, even the environment outside my bathroom, years ago. Want to say it was easy but that would not be the truth. Want to say I did it at exactly the right time but know now I should have done it sooner. But I did connect my own dots and changed my daily choices. Thanks to the guidance of some Wise Womyn, Their persistence and faith in me, and several important books, I finally accepted the consequences of my everyday impact on the world. Had to read “The Mad Cowboy”, “Fast Food Nation”, and many others before I really made the changes needed. I digested the “Inconvenient Truth” I had to accept. Had to understand how what I ate was mass produced, how much grain was consumed to produce those burgers, and what was used to keep up with the demands of me and all the others me’s out there. Slowly but surely, I faced the truth and changed. My hamburgers are not worth the rain forests.

That helped me connect other dots. The choice to be vegetarian begat other choices. A watershed moment as I backed away from the burgers, albeit reluctantly. Soon, other things….other daily choices……were peeled back. I guess what I eat did and does effect my judgment. Soon, there were other changes. Even bigger ones but somehow they seemed easier after the hamburger moved from my digestive tract of life. I saw other things clearer. Made changes that, in hindsight, stun me. Stun me on the level of change as well as how long it took me to get a clue.

So the oil slick heads to the coast. Fingers point, as usual. Clean up efforts kick into gear, as usual. The couldas, wouldas, and shouldas make their appearance, as usual. I think of my hamburgers and am glad I walk more than I ride now. Am glad public transportation is a part of my regiment. Like that my bike days are back. Will think of the birds and sea life that are a few gallons further from danger as I pedal. Maybe a few gallons isn’t that big a deal in the grand scheme of things but still feels good to me. Heck, a few less gallons here and a few less gallons there means a few less barrels and maybe a few less oil platforms and a few less spills and …you get the idea. Walking and riding a bike suddenly feels more right. Feels good as I do it. Better than a hamburger on the best of days.

Ate a lot of burgers in my days. Should have eaten a few less a bit sooner. Still, I am where I am and did what I did and do what I can do. Am glad my days produce more joy and consume less stuff. Hope we move to where the demand for oil puts off shore drilling in the “there’s no money in it” category. We drive them to drill. We can walk away from it when we choose. I chose. The spill just reminds me why. Meanwhile, I hope the clean up goes well and some more dots get connected.