by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
It seems like I spend a good deal of time walking across my front yard and picking up the refuse that our trashy local drivers toss out of their vehicle windows, so I am not favorably disposed to litterbugs, but there could be exceptions. Please read on:
US Interstate 5 is not just some nondescript roadway like the one I live on, it is the major route along the West Coast of the United States running from the US-Mexican border to the US-Canadian border. The big, brawny, bustling interstate connects San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), and Seattle. It is a very busy damned highway!
But last Tuesday evening traffic on Interstate 5 came to a screeching stop near Eugene, Oregon, when a local resident who was traveling on the busy road began throwing fistfuls of money out of his car window – hundreds and hundreds of hundred dollar bills! The litterbug and philanthropist driver estimated that he tossed around $200.000 into the wind - that would be 2,000 separate bills drifting in the breeze and landing all around that stretch of the interstate!
Some people who were driving by at the time were delighted with their sudden good fortune as they parked on both sides of the busy interstate and began chasing the flying currency., Others, however, such as the police and the man’s family, were not so pleased. The police were obviously concerned for the safety of the fortune chasers as well of those who were trying to drive through the melee, and the man’s family said that they needed the money and asked people who found it to please return to the police.
The odd benefactor was identified as Colin Davis McCarthy of Eugene. The money was in a bank account belonging to him and his family, and he had properly withdrawn it from the bank and had “legal access” to the cash. He told police that his intent was to “gift” people with the money. They asked him to stop, citing the significant road hazard that he had created, and he agreed to do so.
Currently the state of Oregon has no plans to charge Mr. McCarthy with a crime. Police went out the following morning and said they could find no sign of any remaining cash along the roadway – and they urged people to not stop along the highway and search for any bills that might have been overlooked.
The good news out of Oregon is that apparently no one was hurt in the mad dash for cash.
I am reminded of the episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Granny goes to Mr. Drysdale’s bank and withdraws a couple of bushel baskets of Jed’s money and then rides the elevator up to the top of the building and begins throwing the currency into the wind where it drifts down onto the busy streets and sidewalks of Los Angeles. The traffic snarled as happy Los
Why can’t I ever come across litterbugs like that? The one’s who cruise my country lane only seem to enjoy tossing out plastic Walmart bags (which float up and get caught in the high tree branches where they flap in the breeze for years), fast food packaging, empty alcohol containers, and full diapers!
But last Tuesday evening traffic on Interstate 5 came to a screeching stop near Eugene, Oregon, when a local resident who was traveling on the busy road began throwing fistfuls of money out of his car window – hundreds and hundreds of hundred dollar bills! The litterbug and philanthropist driver estimated that he tossed around $200.000 into the wind - that would be 2,000 separate bills drifting in the breeze and landing all around that stretch of the interstate!
Some people who were driving by at the time were delighted with their sudden good fortune as they parked on both sides of the busy interstate and began chasing the flying currency., Others, however, such as the police and the man’s family, were not so pleased. The police were obviously concerned for the safety of the fortune chasers as well of those who were trying to drive through the melee, and the man’s family said that they needed the money and asked people who found it to please return to the police.
The odd benefactor was identified as Colin Davis McCarthy of Eugene. The money was in a bank account belonging to him and his family, and he had properly withdrawn it from the bank and had “legal access” to the cash. He told police that his intent was to “gift” people with the money. They asked him to stop, citing the significant road hazard that he had created, and he agreed to do so.
Currently the state of Oregon has no plans to charge Mr. McCarthy with a crime. Police went out the following morning and said they could find no sign of any remaining cash along the roadway – and they urged people to not stop along the highway and search for any bills that might have been overlooked.
The good news out of Oregon is that apparently no one was hurt in the mad dash for cash.
I am reminded of the episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Granny goes to Mr. Drysdale’s bank and withdraws a couple of bushel baskets of Jed’s money and then rides the elevator up to the top of the building and begins throwing the currency into the wind where it drifts down onto the busy streets and sidewalks of Los Angeles. The traffic snarled as happy Los
Why can’t I ever come across litterbugs like that? The one’s who cruise my country lane only seem to enjoy tossing out plastic Walmart bags (which float up and get caught in the high tree branches where they flap in the breeze for years), fast food packaging, empty alcohol containers, and full diapers!
Sometime this July I will be driving Interstate 5 from Portland to Salem, Oregon, and, as I drive, I will be very vigilant as I scan the roadway looking for any of Mr. McCarthy's litter that might have found its way north. I am a decent sort, and if I should come across a bill or two, I would give them back to the family.
That is where the press needs to do a follow-up. How much of the money was returned to the family? Enquiring minds want to know!
1 comment:
The moral of this tale is that you can't trust a man named McCarthy with managing money. either in Oregon or the Congress.
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