Who Remembers Seymour Butts?

Do you remember Seymour Butts?  When I was a kid, Seymour Butts was the answer to a joke.  "Who wrote the book called The View from Under the Bleachers?" The author was a guy named Seymour Butts.

I was reminded of this yesterday while I was doing a 14-mile run in preparation for the Publix Half Marathon.  For you East Cobbers, you will certainly be familiar with my route. I ran along Shallowford, Blackwell, Ebenzer, Sandy Plains, Post Oak Tritt, Holly Springs, Lassiter, and Johson Ferry.  Along the route, I passed by many subdivisions which some would consider "upscale".  As I ran, I couldn't help but notice the trash and litter along the sidewalks and against the fences.  There were empty water bottles, food wrappers, cans, plastic bags, paper, and many other types of garbage.  But, I would have to say that the litter I saw most often was cigarette butts.  They were everywhere.  It seems that even those of you who smoke are repulsed enough that you don't want to use the ashtrays in your cars (assuming your cars still have ashtrays).  It's easier to flick the butts out the window and let the environment handle it.  I have no idea how long it takes for a cigatette butt to dissolve but it seems to me that it takes a long time considering how many of them are still ruining the landscape.

Being an analytical type, I have come up with an estimate of how many cigarette butts I encountered on my run.  If I assume that I saw one cigarette butt (a very conservative estimate) for every 5 feet of my 14 mile run, that means there were about 15,000 cigarette butts lining the sidewalks of our East Cobb neighborhoods.

So for all of you drivers who would rather not mess up your cars with the nasty remains of your habit, and for all of you dog walkers who might pick up your dog's poop but leave your cigarette butts on the ground, and for anyone else out there who thinks that our Earth will somehow swallow up your litter, please take a leisurely want around your neighborhoods and see for yourself.

Do you remember Seymour Butts?  You don't have to think back to your childhood days.  He's still with us today.