Dear Editor:

In regards to the recent letters about trash appearing in the Patriot, in which our local citizens complained about trash littering their neighborhoods: 

On my block of Richeon Street, between Rundell and Quill Drive, there is practically no trash. On most days I sally forth from my humble abode to get in my exercise walk of approximately 2 miles, and upon returning to my area, I pick up trash. I’m not a youth. I’m 76. 

Our society is rife with exercise establishments, in which there are numerous people running on treadmills and otherwise expending great amounts of energy on the exercise equipment. Perhaps some of this wasted energy could be redirected toward performing a task which needs doing, such as picking up trash. 

Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest “because it’s there.” I pick up trash for the same reason. In a weird sort of way, I find it psychologically pleasing. 

Jack Russell
Downey