Saving the Environment

One of the most drastic displays of a man's conviction about the environment he wanted to provide for his young daughter, was shared with me about 10 years ago. This story came to me from a guy when he was just starting out as a parent. He noticed some pollution and took action.

One evening while traveling down the highway my friend was making his way home to see his wife and little girl. As usual he was enjoying some music from his vast CD collection. This is a collection that he had accumulated through high school and college. It was all the stuff city kids of the 90's enjoyed at every school dance and house party. However, on this day as a newly minted father his ears were changing.

The tracks from the CD player were loud and thumbing as usual. Today, despite the volume he could hear the words more clearly. The pictures they painted were coming into focus, maybe for the first time ever. If he had brushed all this aside before, he couldn't any longer. As the music played he became more and more conflicted. These words didn't harmonize with the words he whispered to his princess as she drifted off to sleep. It certainly didn't jive with the way he treated his wife both because he loved her and for his daughter to learn what to expect from a man.

Imagining his daughter being view by men the same way this music depicted women made him nauseous. The nausea may have also been a result of him coming to grips with having to get rid of his prized collection. So there he way cruising along at 65 miles an hour. What happened next shock him just as much as it must have anyone else on the road that day. CD's began flying out the window. With each handful that left his car the conviction intensified and the nausea subsided.

As a young single guy listening to this story I couldn't believe my ears. The level of respect I had for my friend increased exponentially. I had been privileged to hear the story of how he became a man. The type of man I hope his daughter marries.