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[Image]When the time comes to honor those who served and those who fell serving our country or state, Hartford has parades and processions. When the time comes to honor longstanding traditions and pageantry, members of Connecticut's military and police forces participate in these parades astride horses. When the time comes to clean up after the horses, nobody does.

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[Image]This past Sunday's Veterans' Day parade was a grand event that featured numerous police and military personnel on horses. As is often the case, they traversed the bike and pedestrian pathway that connects the southeast corner of Bushnell Park to the state armory. As is typically the case, their horses shat all over the path and they left it there for somebody else to deal with. As of late this afternoon, the path remains strewn with feces. Today's rain and sleet ensured that it hasn't dried out, making it a continuing (if not worsening) slip and fall hazard for any errant shoes or tires that fail to dodge the equine land mines.

From my ancestor who fled famine-ravaged Ireland for a stint in the Union Army to my cousin currently stationed in Afghanistan, numerous members of my own family have served in the armed forces. All of the ones I have known personally were (or are) active outdoorsmen, some Eagle Scouts, with a sense of responsibility and stewardship of the outdoors.

I can think of no veteran who would feel honored by this sort of carelessness.

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