Debris

Debris, carelessly discarded refuse, is different to plain old rubbish. Different to things that are just lost. Or debris could be things that are lost but now forgotten. In other words, something that no one cares about anymore. But how does this carelessness come about?

Tell me how people come to lose shoes out of cars. Now I know that there is a grim side to this, that maybe the odd trainer at the side of the M40 might have a sad history and of course, no one is going to risk their life to rescue a trainer for sentimental reasons. But I'm not talking about roadkill. There are the others.

Along a local stretch of dual carriageway, I counted eight different odd shoes at the roadside. Given that I was driving and therefore paying at least a little attention to the road ahead, it is quite possible that I missed some. You might be surprised to learn that the road in question is probably only a mile long at the most, very likely less. Or you may not be surprised at all. You may well have all the answers. Where do they come from?