As the snow fell on the Ohio River and I strapped on my life vest, I thought I may have made a horrible mistake.  What was I doing there on a Saturday? I could still be in bed or eating a bagel and reading the news.  But there I was with a dozen other intrepid souls braving a boat ride on a freaking cold day because our river is a giant, flowing garbage can - at least that's what it looks like.  Trapped in tangles of semi-petrified branches are the soda cans of generations, toys and trash of young and old alike, not to mention tires, appliances, and hypodermic needles.

The group organizing the cleanup is Living Lands and Waters, a nonprofit that travels the waterways of the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Potomac Rivers for nine months out of the year.  Their mission is to clean up what they can and educate and inspire communities along the way.

Despite the chill of the day, working with this good-natured crew to haul away some of this detritus was the best thing I've done with my Saturday in a long time.  The Ohio River cleanup runs through March 24th.  I know I'll be back out there when I can... rain or shine... or snow.

~Terri, 2007-03-09