The Sad Plight of the Plastic Straw

It has been a friend for so long.   But, now, the always "smart" Federal and state government have demonized it.   The poor unsuspecting thing is killing our environment.   Frankly, in my humble opinion, the best way to stop what's going on with our planet is to get rid of every politician in America.  I mean, with their words, how much of their own hot air has contributed to so-called global warming?  But I digress...

I am lamenting today an old pal.  The plastic straw.   Allegedly, its very presence is killing us all.  Now you are served a drink in a public eatery without one.  Or you have to specifically ask.   It's bad enough I have to work about bacteria not being cleaned sufficiently from forks and knives.  Now I have to worry about mouths on rims of glasses.   

So this started with a fervor in California about six months ago and I am always the one insisting on a straw.  Most of the time, your server has one in his back pocket.   But there are other times when what is provided is even worse.

Cue the sinister music.

The paper straw.

This shit is worthless and there is no better indictment of this product than at my summer home, Dodger Stadium.   This season, their concession stands flipped to paper straws.  Now, my ritual is to get the biggest size soda available before the game.  This will keep me company, with plenty of ice, until usually the eighth inning.

But not with the paper straw.   Sometime around the fifth inning, I pick up my soda and take a swig.

Nothing.

I am inhaling air.

I look at the straw.   It has totally disintegrated in the middle.

So what is the point of all this?   Especially when you can plainly see in these photos.  A plastic lid.  A plastic cup.

One more time in America, we cannot have nice things.   And, for me, there was nothing more welcome than a plastic straw.

Dinner last night:  Grilled steak salad.