Civic Duty

Once in Caracas, Venezuela, I was drinking lemonade and waiting for a comrade outside a government building. Caracas is far from the dirtiest city I’ve ever been to, but it´s certainly no Singapore. I’m usually pretty environmentally conscious back home, but when there´s garbage everywhere, sometimes I just get lax. When in Rome, right? I stomp on the can, and kick it into the gutter. A soldier on guard at the gate looks over at me. He says something in Spanish, pointing at the can. One of my general rules in life is to avoid pissing off anyone with a firearm. I pick up the can. He reaches over the banner for it, walks over to a bin on his side, and dumps it. Dusts his hands off, gives me a nod, and resumes his post.