Happy Spooning

Little things make me happy.

On a Tuesday evening a month ago, Scott and I were kid-less. We contemplated going to the local theatre for Comedy Night, but opted for a downtown stroll and a stop for dessert instead. With Zizou, our Chihuahua, ecstatic at the sound of his leash, we knew we had made a good choice - little did I know that Dana Carvey would make the theatre roar that same evening! The night was chilly, and with much haste, we made our way to the town's organic gelato place, tied the dog to the tree outside and headed straight for the colorful lit display of the handmade delicacy. After a couple of minutes perusing our options (decisions, decisions!), it was time to deliver our words of choice. Since my heart was torn between Fior di Latte and Honey Lavender, I let Scott decide. He too hesitated, and asked for a taster.

As I finally took my eyes off the display, I looked up and there they were! That's when I noticed the reusable stainless tasting spoons that the store had recently adopted  . "Yes! They did it!", I yelled. The sight of these little tasters made my day. Yep, that's right, as meaningless as it seems, this small change makes me happy.

Last year, as part of an Earth day event, my kids and I picked up trash around town. Not that picking up garbage was a first (we had participated in such events as Coastal Cleanup before), but this time was different. It was not about picking up the floating plastic bag that might have come from some faraway place, it was about picking up the waste that my own community would dare discard on their own city streets. The items we found also said a lot about the business practices taking place downtown Mill Valley. And from the amount of "biodegradable" plastic spoons and single serve cups that we found, I concluded that our gelateria, was the main source of street waste on its block. I found out "Looks ( Flavors) are not everything". An organic business ought to know that Tater Ware spoons do not simply "biodegrade" (as mentioned on the spoons) or disappear from the street.

I believe that it is not only up to residents, but also businesses to show care for the environment and lead by example. And as you already know, I strongly believe that one must "Refuse the things that we do not need or do not want to support in order to be sustainable". Along with a few words of explanation, I brought the found spoons back to the gelateria and discussed solutions with the owner. I boycotted for a year the practices that I did not condone, but let my kids enjoy a cone when Grandma offered.

The fact that the business is organic and uses local ingredients, shows interest in being sustainable. I am really happy that they took their sustainability further by offering reusable stainless taster spoons, and will support their business going forward. I thank you, Noci, for the new spoons, and applaud your efforts. At least until the cups that I still find on the ground, get me back on the boycott ;-)