Alternatives to a Balloon Release

How to honor a loved one without strangling a bird or killing a sea turtle

Each of us carries various diddies ingrained from childhood. My favorites were always Stop, Drop and Roll, If It’s Yellow Let It Mellow, and Let ’Em Work Let ’Em Live. OK, the last one may be odd, but we would pass one of these highway signs on the way to the mall and it really spoke to my heart. Most people follow the age-old wisdom of Put Trash In Its Place or Don’t Be A Litterbug. Sure, there is a ton of litter, but most well-mannered and mindful people will not wad up a receipt and throw it on the ground.

The few caveats to this rule are:

• Cigarette disposal — always on the ground without a second thought
• When there are 2+ teenagers in a car with no adult supervision and they just finished eating fast food (an open window often substitutes for a garage can)
• Cities during a rainstorm — when the sidewalks become a broken umbrella graveyard
• Intentional balloon releases