Take only memories, leave only footprints
Chief Seattle
Note: this quote is attributed to various people depending on which website you read.
When I converted this September 2014 image to black and white last night, the quote immediately came to mind.
In reality, the local environmental body (or council?) had used tractors and graders to cart loads of sand to the St Kilda beach, south of inner Melbourne, to replace the sand which was gradually being eroded away by strong tidal waters.
A Moment in Time 
Those are some footprints.
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The contrast of a B&W photo is so revealing with the shot and those words ~ beautiful work, Vicki. And I am proud to see Chief Seattle’s words on your site today as I sit in Seattle, overlooking Elliott Bay 🙂
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Thanks, Randall. It was when I converted the photo to B & W that the quote came to mind. The original colour version didn’t have so much impact.
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Humanity as a whole has never lived up to that admonishment. 😦
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So true, sad to say.
On another matter, it never ceases to amaze me how some people drop rubbish in urban areas near my home when there is a council rubbish bin within easy reach. One day, in an inner suburb of Melbourne, a man dropped his icecream wrapper on the pavement (within 10 feet of a council rubbish bin) and I went up to him and said “Excuse me, you’ve accidentally dropped your ice cream wrapper on the ground” in a very loud voice. “The rubbish bin is over there”.
He looked around himself to see who was looking/listening and then picked it up and dutifully put it in the bin.
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Good for you for speaking up, Vicky. I have tried that a few times, but nowadays, especially in this country, one never knows if the other person is carrying a gun and taking out their frustration on you. How sad a statement is that?!
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I am certainly grateful for our strict gun laws in Australia, but that doesn’t stop anyone from getting guns illegally. I made sure there were plenty of shoppers and other people around me before I spoke on that occasion.
Not littering or damaging other people’s property is something I was brought up with by my parents. The only thing we were allowed to do was throw away an apple core in the countryside because it would break down and compost over time. All other rubbish was brought home in a bag and thrown in our own rubbish bin for council collection. I had very strict parents and thank goodness I was taught right from wrong and to have respect for nature and the environment.
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It also would never occur to me to simply throw out my trash, Vicki, and I believe most people don’t. But as we know, it only takes a few to spoil it for everybody, and that’s true in many different respects.
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