Pile On

 The name of this blog is "Entropical Paradise." As I have mentioned previously, I had no idea that I was the only clever person to jam these two notions together: the random disorder in a system and a sun-drenched beach. Electronic music has their version, composed by Douglas Leedy. There is "a place for writers" on Substack. The Cleveland Institute of Art had a video installation exhibit a few years back. And though it may have become a part of Al Gore's Internet past, there was even a conservative-minded blog that used to compete with me for hits back in the day. 

All that being said, I find myself compelled to comment on the random disorder in this system once again from my soapbox way out here in the recesses of the aforementioned invention of former vice president Al Gore. On my way to work a few mornings back, I rode past a table that had been sitting on the street for a few weeks. Over the course of the time since I have returned to school, a twisted window screen was added to the pile. Then a couple of ratty old dining room chairs. The latest addition to the pile was a chunk of torn cardboard upon which was scrawled this message: "Stop leaving stuff here!"

I let that sink in all the way down the hill and wondered, as you dear reader must be doing right now, why someone would add to the pile by asking that people not add to the pile. 

Welcome to the random disorder in the system. Picking up after yourself has become difficult, if not impossible, for many. The result is the periodic monument of scrap left on curbs and corners across this great land of ours. To the great credit of the folks who frequent the neighborhood just outside our school, the heaps tend to be clustered around the garbage can provided by the city. The twin-sized mattress and the broken forty-two inch television do not, however, fit inside and have become an ersatz fort which no doubt houses a great many of our local rodents. 

But that mild effort has been made to collect refuse in a locale designated for refuse. The challenge being that our refuse production has far outstripped our capacity for dealing with it. Instead, there are those who feel that this is an invitation to contribute to the pile, making it more obvious until the point where it can be seen from outer space. Once NASA has notified local authorities, these pillars of waste will be moved. Or consolidated. Or more likely some kind soul will stop by with a Sharpie-scribbled sign that says, "FREE." 

Free to pile on.