Zach's Conference...And a Nice Surprise

When you are Zach's mom...a teacher conference is a scary thing. He's not a bad kid, he just can't see the common denominator..."Him".

"My mom rides my butt, my sister is a brat, my dad is too strict with me, my teachers all hate me, school is pointless and so is this conference". It seems everyone in his life has problems except him.

I was much the same as a teen and the greater problem is that Zach and I are tremendously alike, which parlays into endless battles of the tongue, wit and mind. I'll concede that he is much more intelligent than I am, but for the life of me I can't get him to use it to his advantage.

I have faith in the fact that if you raise your children right from an early age; even as they falter and try to buck the system throughout their teens...they will one day come back to the values you instilled in them beginning in Pre-K and continued teaching, until they stopped listening in middle school.

Zach isn't that little boy anymore that was always happy and made me laugh so often. He is a young man now struggling to find the way.

I planted the map in him years ago, it is up to him to remember the way. I have full confidence in him...just hope I live to reap what I have so diligently sewn!

Zach's teacher told me over the phone last week that he had written a speech about a "Greener Newnan". She said he did it not because he wanted to but because it was a required assignment. His was one of three chosen to be read but Zach declined (no duh.) I asked her if she could give me a copy and she did today.

Zach would cringe if he knew I had it much less used it in my blog...but I was so struck by how on point and intelligent the paper was that I decided to brag on my boy and print it here. This may give you a glimpse of the brilliant mind that refuses to perform tricks on demand.

"Greener Greater Newnan"

By Zach Cotton

"At first I wasn't sure how to start this speech- a simple hello, a how ya doin, or wasup- but I think it should really start with a question. What do you do to really help out the environment?

It's a simple question and for some people a simple answer. Maybe you drive a hybrid or recycle, you use solar energy or bio diesel, but for some people the answer is the complete opposite.

I drive a Hummer, I litter and I don't recycle. I hope that these people realize what they're doing may not seem like anything...no consequence for your actions, and if that's what you believe let me be the first to tell you you're severely wrong.

It's like Newton's law...for every action no matter how minuscule it may seem there is an opposite and equal reaction.

For instance did you know that as much as 10 percent of the 260 millions tons of plastic produced annually ends up in the oceans? (natgeo.org)

Don't believe me me it's okay. I know it's a staggering number and very hard to grasp but to give you an idea of how bad it's gotten let me tell you this fact. There is a trash ball two times the size of Texas floating somewhere between California and Hawaii at this very moment growing constantly...you can look this up it's a true thing.

Now I know you're hearing this and some of you might be very angry wondering who it is responsible for this heinous crime against nature but the truth is you need look no further than at your own very self. I know you are thinking, but how ME? I have never even been close to California. I never threw trash in the ocean, but in fact most of the trash is household items that have washed down rivers or streams killing animals all along the way until it finally drifts into the ocean and begins its path of destruction and death as it floats across the ocean propelled by currents, winds and tide.

That's not the worst of it though, because over time the plastic breaks down and blends into the water making the water toxic which in turn affects fish and all sorts of sea life and anything that feeds on those including humans. That's right, so think about that next time you sit down to a fish dinner.

Here is the part where people want to start playing the blame game. There are lots of reasons why this is happening and certainly there are some more responsible than others and they should be punished accordingly and hopefully will some day.

Instead of of trying to blame one another for the problem let's simply work together on the solution, certainly with so many problems we can come together for some sort of solution or at least try to make a bad situation a little LESS bad.

For instance a big part of the problem is that third world and developing nations have no means to dispose of of all the trash they are producing and when you are producing a nation's worth of trash and have no means to dispose of it, it's almost certain to create a disaster.

Think of the United States with so many ways to dispose of our garbage. With things like landfills and recycling plants we still have and cause pollution problems. Certainly we are not putting forth a good message for industrializing underdeveloped nations.

All of this may seem like too much for one person to handle and I would never try to put all this on one person's shoulders. I just simply wanted to explain how bad things have gotten and put forth the point that if things don't change soon we are on a course for disaster and make no mistake we are close to the point of no return, where things may change and not for the better.

We still have a chance.

Now I am not expecting any of you to do anything major and I'm not asking for it...I simply want people to try to be a little more green, whether it's recycling or driving a hybrid or inventing new technology that can help clean up this crisis and stop us from destroying our planet and causing permanent changes that affect not only your children but your children's children.

Let's start preserving this beautiful place for future generations so that the children of the future can have not only a greener greater Newnan, but a greener greater Earth."

That's my boy...he made me proud today when I read this eloquent and well written (for him) speech.

He'll never be that little boy again who dressed in a ballerina costume and curtsied for my camera...but at least I still have the picture.

He is almost grown up and finding his footing on the slippery stones of young adulthood .

This speech his teacher gave me renewed my faith in him and gave me the will to keep on pushing him no matter how much he resents it.

I have told all three of my kids at one time or another..."The older you get, the smarter I will seem."

Till next time...COTTON