The recent letter to the Arizona Daily Sun from Linda McMichael titled “Picking up litter a good workout” was both witty and disquieting. Even though trash being aimlessly tossed into our community is not funny, it’s apparently of little concern to many. You might expect such childish behavior from a kid in diapers, but by adults?

Really?

Praise to Linda for being so troubled by this failure in judgment she gathered the litter along Pine Knoll Drive herself. Many others, however, prefer to click their tongues in pretended anguish over the mess but seldom bother to pick it up. Have we collectively forgotten how to bend at the waist? Or, do we consider trash retrieval beneath our dignity?

We all can look toward our splendid mountains and wonder at the beauty of this place. Then glance downward to know reality. Most of the assorted clutter that hugs our landscape is our doing. And more of us need to start claiming that debris as a personal responsibility. If we don’t jointly resolve this challenge to our community it will continue its growth into a crushing eyesore.

Well, Mr. Grumbles, do you have any suggestions?

I thought you’d never ask. As part of the upcoming Festivius For The Rest Of Us celebration, there’ll be a gathering on New Year’s Day in Heritage Square at 9 a.m. The goal of those attending will be the collection of all the litter left in our downtown the previous night. All hail to a descending Weatherford Pine Cone, but must we show our appreciation by filling our inner city with oodles and bits of unwanted garbage? Really?

What is Festivius, you ask? To answer, it can be many things. But in this context it’s a low-key series of neighborhood “happenings” from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. It’s about becoming a part of easygoing community activities while rediscovering the simple joy of a shared laugh with friends and neighbors.

This Festivius concludes at noon on New Year’s Day (after the downtown cleanup) near the dam in the icy waters of Upper Lake Mary. This will be our fourth Polar Plunge, and no, I won’t be doing any misguided diving, but I will hold your coat. Look for me on the shore disguised as a coat rack.

Another Festivius activity is the downtown winter parade. Join us on Dec. 14 for a 2-mile stroll in escort of Tom Boughner’s giant snow shovel float. On Sunday, Dec. 15, we’ll be walking the Coconino Estates luminaries route, and on New Year’s Eve we’ll be doing a night snowshoe event in Buffalo Park.

That’s just a few of our free December activities. For complete Festivius information, including start times and locations plus event descriptions, we’ll mail you the December Festivius schedule featuring 15 different community activities. Or attend our meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. at the Adult Center. Call me at (928) 714-0504 or email ADILLLO@aol.com to have the schedule mailed.

You can also find our activities listed in the calendar each day in the Arizona Daily Sun and online at azdailysun.com. Happy holidays, everybody.