Today I photographed Taffy Apple Day in the cafeteria at work. I have no deep thoughts about this. It was simply a quick little shoot. Nothing to report here. On the other side of the cafeteria, they are trying to get coffee addicts to stop using 4 million Styrofoam cups a year across the hospital system (4 hospitals). So they are offering that people instead purchase a branded coffee mug, like everyone has seen. So I shot a photo of someone bringing theirs back to complain that the lid was cheap and broken. See, the problem with trying to modify people’s habits against their will is that people are already looking for a reason not to comply. Sure, everyone thinks Styrofoam is bad and no one likes using it. But people like their little conveniences too, like not having to wash their own dishes. Take it from me. I eat out almost every meal. Many people balk at that but the way I usually explain it is that I have dozens of personal chefs scattered around the north shore of Chicago. Sure, I could save a little money and make my own food, but the effort involved is annoying. First, I have to go to cooking school and graduate. Then I have to get a liquor license and the proper health code permits. Next is fire insurance because potentially burning down the apartment complex is not something I can handle financially at the moment. Then I have to get containers to serve the food in. Then I have to hire drivers to take the food, wait for my call and then bring the food back to me. And that just seems silly. Isn’t it just easier to work with the people who have done all of that work already? I don’t even have table candles with tea lights. Oh wait, I do have that. OK, there’s that. But all of the rest just seems insurmountable.
