“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government

To save the environment.”

Ansel Adams

Although I truly love Spring

Its arrival has not boded very well

First another historic barn was bulldozed

And very recently I experienced another hell

A young ten-year old student of my spouse

Had asked me if I could take him fishing nearby

Since I love introducing kids to the great outdoors

His request soon brought a joyous gleam to my eye

Soon I had loaded all of my fishing gear

And our picnic lunch into my trusty old truck

And he and I were off at the very crack of dawn

It was a marvelous morning for some fishing luck

As we happily drove down the old country lane

I told him all about my ultra secret fishing spot

My granddad had first proudly shown it to me

When I was an extremely eager six-year old tot

Soon we arrived at my childhood haunt

And there wasn’t another soul to be seen

That’s when this boy’s dreams were shattered

As he read a signpost that we both found obscene

‘Do not remove or eat fish from this water,

These fish are contaminated with toxic PCBs’

There suddenly went our grand outdoor adventure

There suddenly went all his joyous new fishing glee

This horrified boy now seemed extremely reluctant

To even linger very long on these now polluted shores

And I now sadly remembered when I was just about his age

Spending the entire day here was something I truly did adore

He had very quickly lost all of his interest in fishing

He said he wanted to go home to play his video games

I guess I can’t blame this disappointed modern youngster

What we’ve done to his generation to me is a damned shame

I’m also guessing that this disappointed kid

Will never ask me to take him fishing again

And I sadly believe that his interest in nature

Has probably already come to a very tragic end

And as I now sit here picturing him as a grown parent

When his own kids ask him about the ‘once great outdoors’

I can also hear his very loud and very concerned response to them,

“You kids just stay inside today –  far from those polluted toxic shores.”

I really miss those wondrous good old days

But I think we all foolishly let them fade away

And I was extremely saddened that this modern day youngster

Will probably never experience a truly glorious nature - filled day

©2007, Mr. Ed