MAYBE we should have a modern version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The main character will be a person who mindlessly throws his/her trash anywhere and everywhere.

Instead of being visited by the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future, the lead character should be haunted by the garbage thrown in the past, present and future. I imagine a scene where, if he or she happens to be a smoker, he/she will be threatened with asphyxiation by all these talking tiny cigarette butts carelessly thrown into the streets, flower pots or anything handy.

Actually some scenes during “Ondoy’s” onslaught already make powerful images of how we are made to pay for past – and even present – sins of omission and commission: people swimming alongside all the trash dumped into rivers, creeks, seas, lakes and every body of water that some of them probably put there themselves.

You would think that after the destructive floods brought by “Ondoy,” a “weakling” storm in terms of wind power but a major water “carrier,” people would be more mindful of where and how they dispose of their trash.

But as soon as people came out of their houses, the streets were again strewn with plastic bags and wrappers that they threw away after drinking their malamig and eating their kakanin and junk food.

Smokers were dropping cigarette butts everywhere, discarding them on the street before entering establishments where smoking was not allowed. (I would suggest to shopping malls to have receptacles outside their doors where people could drop discarded cigarettes so they do not throw them on the streets. Other buildings could do the same.)

Apparently, even in evacuation centers, people are making a mess, mindlessly throwing their trash everywhere no doubt expecting somebody to clean up after them, uncaring of their temporary shelters probably because these are not their own homes. Or are they behaving exactly as they do in their own houses?

“Ondoy” should have shown us that the bad things we do, especially the way we abuse nature and mess up the environment, will not affect other people only. We live in the same community, the same country, the same planet. Any bad thing we do will come back to haunt us. And nature is no respecter of status and wealth.

Garden show

People who are starting to think about rehabilitating their gardens after tropical storm “Ondoy” should find time to visit the Los Baños Flower and Garden Show, Oct. 9-18, at the University of the Philippines Los Baños Social Hall in Los Baños, Laguna (call Dr. Ben Vergara at 049-5360689, e-mail bsvergara@gmail.com).

Sponsored by the Los Baños Horticulture Society that also holds a garden show in the first quarter of the year, the event coincides with the UPLB College Foundation Day.

The show is always greatly anticipated by plant lovers as it brings together not just experts from UPLB but also sellers from Laguna and neighboring provinces, many of them offering highly prized and much sought-after varieties. Experts will also hold lectures on the propagation and care of certain species.

Customer’s delight

When Ansons was at its old site along Arnaiz Street (formerly Pasay Road), I usually gave it a wide berth, especially when I was looking for appliances. The store’s appliance section was on the ground floor that seemed to be the basement the way the establishment was designed. I always found it dark, cramped and musty.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the store has reinvented itself now that it has a new location beside Makati Shangri-La. The ugly duckling has turned into a swan. Not only is the showroom bright and spacious, but there is even a comfortable customer lounge where you can sit and wait while they process your purchase.

You do not have to stand around the counter with about a dozen other people waiting for the cashiers to complete the paperwork. They even give you a free bottle of water as you wait. How’s that for service?

Kudos to Ansons! This is one happy customer.

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Avenue cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph