The Alexander City Outlook

Help keep state’s red dirt beautiful

One of the most recognizable features of Alabama is its red clay. For people who live in the central and southern part of the state, red dirt is a common characteristic of the landscape, just like pastures, cows and fences.

It’s so common the country music duo Brooks & Dunn wrote a song called “Red Dirt Road,” which describes what it’s like growing up in the rural South. It’s a great song that many of us can identify with, especially since it covers everything from drinking beer to finding Jesus on a back woods road.

I was reminded of this song a couple of weeks ago while I was driving along Sanders Road on my way to work. Even though this road is paved, a road crew was working on a drainage ditch off to the side. They were using a backhoe to expand the ditch to better handle heavy rain.

As they were working I noticed the rich, red dirt they were exposing. It was typical Alabama dirt that we’ve all seen countless times, but it was absolutely beautiful. I began to think how lucky we are to live in a state where even the dirt is pretty.

Think about it; Alabama has mountains to the north, beaches to the south, and dense forests everywhere in between. Plus, it has the loveliest dirt on the planet. Heaven can’t be much better.

The road crew worked on the ditch for several days and each time I passed I enjoyed the view more and more. The Brooks & Dunn song was a constant theme in my mind.

I have to admit even the old Hank Williams Jr. song, “If Heaven Ain’t A Lot Like Dixie,” was rambling around in my noggin. Just like the song says, I felt I was truly one of the chosen few to be born in Alabama, right along with Bocephus himself.

Unfortunately, my mellow southern state of mind was shattered one day when I saw a large amount of trash lying in the ditch on my beautiful red dirt. Almost overnight beer cans and other assorted trash, like fast food hamburger wrappers and plastic cups, destroyed the beautiful scenery.

I began to think about what type of person would throw their garbage on the street instead of properly disposing it in a garbage can. From the looks of the trash, it would seem these individuals eat hamburgers and drink lots of beer while they are driving. Suddenly it came to me that if their irresponsible enough to drink and drive, then it stands to reason they could care less about trashing up Alexander City.

It’s time for our community to put forward a concerted effort to not only clean up our area, but also catch these beer-drinking, trash throwers who junk up the scenery. Let’s face it, there is trash all over the county and we can solve the problem by reporting these litterers to the authorities. A stiff fine would put a major dent into a person’s beer budget, which might solve two problems at once.

Of course, this will only work if we as a community step up our policing efforts and the authorities follow through and investigate reported instances of littering.

Regardless, I’m sick and tired of looking at trash in my ditch. After all, I like my dirt clean.

Roger Steele is the general manager and advertising director of The Alexander City Outlook. His column appears each Thursday.