Ho Hum:  MOMS FOR LIBERTY

PROUD OF MY CITY — On January 6th of 2024 the city of Athens, Ohio will outlaw single-use plastic carryout bags.  The ban applies to all stores and vendors in the city of Athens, including restaurants, and covers single-use plastic carryout bags provided to customers at checkout. The law does not apply to plastic bags (usually without handles) that a store or restaurant provides within the business to hold potentially messy items such as produce, meat, fish, baked goods or bulk items.  Stores or restaurants that violate the new law will be cited with an administrative offense and fined $150. If they fail to pay the fine within 30 days, they’ll be cited with a misdemeanor offense.  Customers will not be subject to citations or fines.  Many stores and restaurants will be posting “Remember your bags” or “BYOB” (Bring Your Own Bag.)

The ordinance can be reviewed on the city’s web site, https://library.com,oh/athens/ordinances/code_of_ordinances?no-deld=1225501.  “Plastics , including bags, contain thousands of chemicals that leach out and can’t be separated from the plastics at recycling. Most of these chemicals are not identified and many are known to be toxic.  Plastics last for hundreds or years. They don’t biodegrade. They break into smaller microplastics and nanoplastics that leach out toxic chemicals.

Plastic waste threatens our ecosystem and us. It is found in soil and water and our bodies and is killing wildlife, both on land and in waterways.  Eliminating single-use plastic  plastic bags is a start in reducing oil and gas pollution. Promoting and increasing our use of plastic is Plan B for the fossil fuel industry as they see their profits decreased by our reliance on more renewable energy sources.  More plastics means more fracking and more petrochemical facilities. For more information, email Athens ReThink Plastics at AthensReThinkPlastics@gmail.com.  And BYOB!

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DID YOU KNOW?  A group of buzzards is called a wake, though this refers to the vultures instead of true buzzards. This name comes from a reference to a funeral practice called a wake in which family and friends of the deceased would sit by the casket and watch for signs of waking.  (The vultures or true buzzards wait to make sure their deceased is truly dead before eating.)  Barf.

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GREAT IDEA

This may be evermore at the level of its inception idea, but realizing that it’s too late to orchestrate one of my homemade Christmas cards, I decided it would be Happy New Year cards, and then my eyes got big and I thought about making a card of a Christmas tree with ornament balls of friends in my life, past and present.  Even a page of those I’ve forgiven.  Now that I’ve told my reader, at least you will know I had the idea, if I never get around to accomplishing [finishing?] it.

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WELCOME IS THE NEWS THAT today Pope Francis is allowing priests to bless same sex relationships (but not marriages).

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Regretful is the old news that I still can’t can’t navigate to return to D’Verse Poets…Oh well, can’t be young and sharp forever….