With all our rain comes thousands of flowers in every color imaginable, with a backdrop of a hundred shades of green. Vancouver could easily be elected “The Most Beautiful City in the USA,” but there’s a problem. Vancouver is trashy.
Eight years ago, I voluntarily quit driving. Now I walk more, so I see more. Among the beautiful flowers and green grass are cigarette butts, candy wrappers, drink containers, even banana peels. To top it off, people and businesses don’t pull their weeds. By far, the worst offender is the Vancouver Police West Precinct on Stapleton. This beautiful, new building has landscaping that needs a complete overhaul. They did make a small effort. A few months ago, they applied weed spray to huge thistles and blackberry vines. It killed almost everything, but now there’s a bunch of dead stuff. What an eyesore.
The jails and juvenile hall are filled with people who often need something to do. It feels good to get outdoors and work in the fresh air.
Maybe some of the churches could get together and have a “Clean Up Vancouver Day.” If we all worked together, we could easily turn Vancouver into “The Most Beautiful City in the USA.”
