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Space junk, river trash and Big Sweep
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Published: October 10, 2009
So, NASA proved it can hit the broad side of a barn, in this case the moon, that bright and shiny barn that's the biggest thing in our immediate sky.
Friday morning's crater-making splash on Luna was a dud to TV viewers, but NASA scientists are still ecstatic.
They crashed a burned-out rocket into the moon. A second rocket with cameras followed, slamming into the lunar surface but taking a zillion photos before it winked out forever.
The images transmitted to TV screens were smudgy, but scientists say the important stuff is the light spectrum analyses that NASA hopes will show the moon has water beneath its surface.
Most people expected a closer, bargain-basement display similar to the time the comet splattered Jupiter.
No. But NASA's aim was true. Years ago, we fired a rocket at the moon and missed. So did the Russians. The next time, we and the Russians used a bit more Kentucky windage and hit the mark.
Eventually, of course, we landed men on the moon.
All the stuff we took to the moon is still there. Except the capsules with the men in them. Now, NASA has deposited more junk on the moon.
There still isn't as much junk on Luna as there is in Lake Hickory.
The recent Big Sweep where volunteers hauled off debris and trash from the shoreline and out of the water was a huge success.
It always is because of the junk people continue to throw away.
The Big Sweep collected tons of garbage from waterways throughout North Carolina.
Members of the Juniorettes Club from Hickory High School were among the Big Sweep volunteers.
Imagine their surprise when they hooked the front end of a pickup truck in the lake.
It was a tough haul, but the hulk was finally deposited in the boat operated by Jay Greenbaum.
Greenbaum, owner of Responder Boats in Connelly Springs, has helped with Big Sweep before. He knows to expect the unexpected.
The Juniorettes also collected numerous bags of trash, a tire, two pylons and a lot of packing foam.
They operated out of the Wittenburg Wildlife Access.
It was an exciting day, and the pickup truck was probably the biggest thing pulled out of the lake that day.
Greenbaum's crew, by the way, was Emily Moose, Kilby Church and Elizabeth Rosson.
It's a shame that the lake and other bodies of precious water we depend on for recreation and drinking are treated like cesspools.
But people, obviously, will throw out anything they no longer want — or are trying to hide.
Abandoned rock quarries eventually fill up with water, and there have been entire pickup trucks and cars found in them. Some of them stolen, others used in crimes.
For the most part, Hickory, Lookout, Rhodhiss, James and other area lakes get the ordinary garbage treatment.
Stuff flies out of boats, unwanted items are heaved over the side or people who are just visiting and have no intention of being anything else but landlubbers simply drive off and leave their trash behind.
Then there's the front-end of the pickup truck. It's almost as big as some of the stuff we've left on the moon.
In all fairness, it would be difficult to pack it up and bring it back to Earth. And, unlike polluting earthly lakes and forests, there are no rivers to spoil, trees to kill or animals to harass on the moon.
At least we don't think so. Hope we didn't awaken any monster by target-shooting at the moon.
Maybe someday when the Juniorettes and our other volunteers are a bit older and trips to the moon are common, they can conduct a Big Sweep there.
That would be a great adventure as long as NASA isn't shooting at them. They would find stuff a lot more interesting than a rusty truck.
And if there is water on the moon, well, maybe Cap'n Jay could loan 'em one of his boats.
Larry Clark is a Record staff writer and grateful for all the volunteers who helped with Big Sweep. Reach him at lclark@hickoryrecord.com.
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