Friday, 9/15

Yes, it did actually happen. And no, it doesn't surprise me that the vehicle in question was a pick-up truck.

One of the ways in which I try to kill myself while working out is to do a series of high intensity sprints up & down a street near where I live. You run as fast as you can up the block, stop for a few seconds, go back from where you came, stop for a few more seconds, and then repeat as often as you can. In my case, it's somewhere between 24 and 30 sprints, and by the time you're done you're wiped out.

And, hopefully, healthier.

It takes me around a half an hour to complete that task, and when I was doing it a couple of mornings ago I noticed that there was a pick-up truck sitting in front of Third Street Bagel with its lights on and its engine running. That in and of itself isn't unusual; people will often do that if they need to run in and pick something up. As I kept continuing my sprints I kept noticing the truck was still running. By the time I finished my sprints--a half an hour later--the truck was still sitting there with its engine running and its lights on.

Now, when you consider the fact that it was like that before I started running and it continued to be like that after I finished, I have to ask this one simple question--

What the what?

Whoever owned the truck obviously wasn't just running in to pick up something. They were obviously there to eat, drink, or visit inside. And while I can see leaving your truck running for a few minutes, especially when it's cold outside, the air temperature that morning was in the 50s. There was no danger of their truck getting cold inside. Yet they let their engine run for at least a half an hour, letting fuel burn and sending pollutants into the atmosphere for no good reason.

And let me guess--this same person is probably someone who complains about the price of gas, even though they'll let their truck run for at least half an hour.

Now, who knows. Maybe there was a good reason for letting their truck run for at least half an hour outside of a restaurant. Maybe they're an emergency services worker who may need to leave in a flash. Maybe there was something in their truck that needed to stay warm. I don't know, and if either was the case, accept my apologies for even bringing it up. But if that WASN'T the case, and they left their truck running just so, I dunno, they could waste two gallons of gas, just let me say this:

You DO know we're undergoing a climate crisis, right? And you DO know that leaving a (big) truck running for over half an hour doesn't help in that regard, correct?

People these days...

8-)

Okay; I'll get off my high horse now. It's just something I noticed while sprinting, something that just didn't seem right. And many thanks to you for letting me point it out. I mean, I know that doesn't help in one iota, but I just figured someone should mention it.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. And remember--every little bit helps!

(jim@wmqt.com), (futilely) trying to save the planet