Spring break: the bitch is back!

I got called a Bitch this weekend… and I could not be more satisfied.

The area where I live is a big tourist destination. Being that Spring Break has begun, tourist have been flocking to the beaches like seagulls looking for cold french fries.

I know that our area depends on tourist dollars. That was painfully evident when so many businesses suffered or closed during the BP oil spill in 2010. But… that doesn’t mean locals have to take all the shit that comes with the tourist dollars.

Back to the name calling…

I was out early on one of my photo walks. It was very foggy and I wanted to take advantage of that misty atmosphere. After an hour or so, I stopped to get gas at a local mega station that shares space with a fast food restaurant.

When I pulled up to the pump, four out-of-state college kids were coming out of the restaurant. After they all piled into their car, a back passenger door opened, and one of them put a drink cup on the ground beside the car then closed the door.

Understand… right in front of the car on the sidewalk, less than five steps away, was a trash can. They had to walk between their car and the can to get into the car.

They pulled out and drove around to the other side of the gas pump from me. When the driver opened his door to get out, I asked, “you all can’t throw away your own trash?” Seriously, that’s all I said, and in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Deep within the car, I heard one of them clearly yell, “Bitch!”

It was all I could do to not laugh, “well, yeah?”

I don’t typically confront strangers, but I was feeling pissy about the total lack of respect some tourists have for my hometown. This was nothing. You can’t imagine the junk people leave on our beaches, or how tourists sometimes treat their service providers – hotel maids, wait staff at restaurants, retail cashiers. It’s disgusting.

While I was still filling my tank, one of the punks walked over to where they had been parked, picked up the cup and threw it away. Maybe I should have been the bigger person, the adult, and simply thanked them. Instead, as I drove out of the parking lot, I flipped them off.

People! I live here, thousands of people live here year ‘round. Not just a week here, or a month there, but all the time. This is not your personal garbage dump, and we locals aren’t your personal bitches.

Show some respect and pick up your own trash! If you want to be punks and assholes stay home.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

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