A 'Ducks' Worth of Advice

It is a common belief today that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. This thought has often been extended onto friends, family, and even lovers and spouses of the non-green persuasion. This is the uncle who refuses to recycle his aluminum cans, or the aunt who falls asleep with the television and lights on the entire night.

Well, in the tidings of the holiday spirit, we bring you a story about a Minneapolis duck hunter and his pet duck, Frank. Interestingly, the duck was actually named Francis initially. That is until Joe realized that his blossoming companion was a dude, err, drake, rather than a dudette.

The Duck in the Truck

Our story begins about a year ago, when Joe Mansheim was in the market for a good hunting dog to take with him duck hunting. He ended up spending $700 on a dog of a fine hunting breed who ended up not liking hunting. News spread about Joe's predicament, instigating his boss to poke a little fun, telling him that he might as well of just bought the duck instead.

Taking this comment as a perfect chance for a joke, Joe called up his local feed and tack store and ordered a duck to be delivered directly to his door. A few days later a cute ball of feathers was dropped off and Joe was surprisingly pleased by the duck's friendly temperament.

The two bonded almost immediately and one day, as Joe was walking out to his truck for work, Frank followed, hopped into the flatbed's cab and the rest is, as they say, history. Every single morning now, without fail, Frank waddles out to the truck to meet with Joe to head off to work together delivering construction materials throughout the Twin Cities area.

After a hard day's work, they return, share a meal together, play with the dog (yes, he still kept the non-hunting dog, and for Frank's sake, that's a good thing), then do it all over again the next day. "I'm a duck hunter, but I don't consider Frank a duck. I just consider him a friend," Joe tells 9News.com. "Stupid as it sounds maybe if more people had a duck in their lives we wouldn't be all so mad at each other."

Moral of the Story

Well, we don't think that sounds stupid at all Joe. In fact, I think we all could all use a Frank in our lives. What does this story have to do with Planet Green? Well, we like to believe that anybody is changeable. Kids are of course much easier to turn into treehuggers, as a study by Cornell University suggests. It is the adults that can be difficult.

But we ask you to never give up on the adults in your life. They can see the light at any age and make a complete turn around. The key is not so much in the nagging, but rather the inspiration of personal experience. If you can offer them the opportunity to experience first hand what it feels like to make a positive difference, or if they don't believe that just just one person can make a difference, remind them of a few startling statistics.

Recycling just one glass bottle can save enough electricity to power a 100-watt light bulb for up to four hours. Recycling one aluminum can offers the typical television enough power savings to run for six hours. It is not always that people don't want to green their lifestyle, but rather that they simply don't know how to, or realize the difference one person can make. Let them share in your experiences, and like the duck in our story, you may be able to reach them from the inside out.

Source: 9News.com: The Duck in a Truck.