He said, "It's time, dear." He straightened up. Daddy gnome was in full battle armor.
Mama gnome sat bolt upright. She remembered in a few hours she will face the bane of her existence, Plastic Bag Monster.
With a heart that raced full gallop, she dressed in her own armor and stepped out into the hall.
Four good-sized reusable bags filled with provisions the night before, waited in the hallway.
The gnomelets were still asleep.
"Let them sleep, they'll need their strength," Mama gnome thought to herself.
She double-checked the list: hats, sunblock, gloves for gnomelets and parent gnomes, waiver forms, copy of Coastal Cleanup Day pass for car resting lot. Everything looked fine.
While Mama gnome drank her cup of morning elixir (so vital for existence) and munched on her slice of toast with peanut butter, she mentally prepared herself.
'Do not underestimate the creature. Do not pity Plastic Bag Monster. For it does not pity you.'
A tiny voice piped in behind her.
"Mama, are we going to the beach?" Baby gnomelet asked.
"Yes, baby. Let's get ready. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Strawberry cream cheese toast."
By the by, the gnome family piled into the gnome car and drove on.
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's BlogThey also drove by this: an eyesore for Mama gnome: more hillsides and mountainsides being carved out for urban development.
Elder gnomelet saw this, a flock of birds resting on a water tank.
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog
Mama gnome checked their bearings on the map. Though Mama gnome is a computer savant, she is quite proficient in map reading and navigation.
Finally, the gnome family saw this:
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog
They were minutes away.
Daddy gnome drove into the car resting lot and stopped at the other end, not in a resting space, but in the middle of the lane.
"Something's wrong. This can't be it. We're in the wrong place," Daddy gnome said.
"Why do you say that?" Mama gnome asked.
"There's no one here."
Mama gnome looked around. Indeed there were plenty of vacant spaces.
"But the meeting place is not here, it's over there, past the sand dune, past the humans playing volleyball," Mama gnome said. "Oh, look. There are two people picking up trash over there. Let's ask them where we sign up."
The gnome family got out of the car.
The gnomelets kept cheering, "Yehey! We're at the beach!"
Mama gnome called out to the humans, "Hello! Where do we sign up for Coastal Cleanup Day?"
The man and woman stopped and smiled back.
The human lady spoke first, "Over there." She pointed to the same spot Mama gnome told Daddy gnome.
"Oh good, we're not lost. Do you know how many people showed up already?" Mama gnome asked.
"About thirteen," said the woman.
"Really?" Mama gnome's heart sank. Has Plastic Bag Monster won already? How can only thirteen people be here?
"Well counting you that'll be fifteen. My goal is twenty."
"But how about my gnomelets? They're here to help too. I've filled out the waiver forms already and they've got their own gloves," Mama gnome said.
"Wow, really?" The woman smiled at the gnomelets.
"That's great." The man said.
Daddy gnome and gnomelets walked towards the beach while Mama gnome spoke with the humans about their battle strategy against Plastic Bag Monster.
It turns out the humans Mama gnome spotted were special humans.
They are Sarah Kern and Matt Stabile.
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blogspot
Sarah Kern was the beach coordinator for that particular clean up site.
She is the Editorial Assistant for Self Enquiry Life Fellowship which is a Santa Barbara based non-profit group.
Mama gnome's heart swelled while she spoke with the kindly humans, clearly her strong allies against Plastic Bag Monster.
Sarah explained to Mama gnome the safety precautions and procedures for picking up trash or Plastic Bag Minions. She gave Mama gnome an orange bag for trash and a white bag for recyclables.
Mama gnome asked, "So plastic bags go into recyclables?"
Sarah said, "No."
Mama gnome shook her head, "No way."
"I'm sorry but no. Only water bottles, the thick plastic stuff, not the thin bags," explained Sarah.
It's true. According to Heal the Bay, "only 1% to 4% of plastic bags are recycled."
Mama gnome trudged towards the beach to search for her family.
Sad thoughts slowed down every step...Only thirteen people and four gnomes showed up...Can't recycle plastic bags...Only thirteen people and four gnomes showed up....Can't recycle plastic bags...We're doomed.
With the gnome family safely suited up with protective gloves, the battle began.
Guess who found and captured the first trash monster?
Older gnomelet.
It turns out older gnomelet's eyes were like hawk's eyes, quite adept at picking out unnatural things half-buried in the sand.
Baby gnomelet's eyes, on the other hand, were quite adept at finding drift wood, rocks and sea shells in the sand. For this Mama gnome was grateful.
After twenty minutes, the most abundant trash monster in the beach revealed itself...
Cigarette remains or as humans called them, cigarette butts.
In twenty minutes, the gnome family captured almost thirty cigarette butts.
In an hour and a half, they've captured almost one hundred and thirty cigarette monsters.
They were tricky. A lot of them hid in the sand. A lot of them had sloughed off their outer casings.
Cigarettes are not biodegradable. They have small plastic inserts that last forever or will over time become smaller and smaller plastic particles that become part of the ocean food web.
Besides the cigarette remains, the second most prolific trash monsters found were plastic bottle or soda cap monsters. Round plastic caps perfect for choking seabirds and other marine animals.
And guess who found the first recyclable material in the beach?
Yes, older gnomelet!
She unearthed a half-buried aluminum soda can. Mama gnome's so proud of her.
The time allotted for Coastal Cleanup Day was almost over. Yet Mama gnome had not even captured a single plastic bag. None. Plastic bags travel well because they are so light. They had now flown out into the oceans.
What Mama gnome found were countless small pieces, unrecognizable parts of something plastic.
At the end of almost three hours of battle, these are the trash monsters captured that morning.
I know. It looks like it's not much. But if you consider there are almost 800 pieces of cigarette monsters in there and countless small pieces of plastic monsters, they added up to quite a bit for a small group of humans and gnomes.
I tell you this, but Mama gnome's heart has been heavy for a few days now because she thought she would indeed battle with Plastic Bag Monster but he didn't even show up.
Instead he left in his wake, unrecognizable plastic monsters, styrofoam monsters, bottle cap monsters and cigarette monsters.
Mama gnome's heart grew heavier still at the thought of how small the group of people who showed up at that clean-up site.
But today, she read the report from the California Coastal Commission,
a preliminary press release for Coastal Cleanup Day 2009. Here's an excerpt:
With 65% of the cleanup sites reporting, the statewide count stands at 66,550 volunteers,Over one million pounds of trash. Mama gnome's heart soared.
which should approach the event goal of 70,000 volunteers.
Those volunteers picked up 819,394 pounds of trash
and an additional 89,899 pounds of recyclable materials,
for a total of 909,294 pounds.
The Coastal Commission expects to exceed 1,000,000 pounds of trash when all the totals are in.
Mama gnome also found solace in Jane Goodall's words:
Jane Goodall said,
"It's easy to be apathetic and give up...We need people who can inspire us. One person can make a difference. The most important advice I can give you is to follow your dreams...Never give up. Remember each day differs. And here's advice my mother gave me, 'Your life matters and for each day, we can make the world a better place for all living things."
Mama gnome declares victory over Plastic Bag Monster on this momentous day, the battle of Coastal Cleanup Day.
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's BlogBut the war is not over. Plastic Bag Monster swirls in the depths of oceans and rivers, lurking and waiting for Mama gnome.
And Mama gnome is no longer afraid. For she has found another secret weapon.
Something Plastic Bag Monster would never expect.
Plastic Bag Monster prepare for your greatest enemy....
Older Gnomelet.
photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's BlogYes, you should be afraid you foul beast. For she has hawk like eyes, boundless energy and indomitable spirit.
She is Eco-warrior.
Please join Mama gnome, be an ally against Plastic Bag Monster.
Arm yourselves with reusable bags and go green.
(c) 2009 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blogspot.
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