This Dallas resident is dedicated to keeping his neighborhood park clean
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
For the past three years, Tim Felix has spent most mornings walking from his Old East Dallas apartment to the J.W. Ray Park down the street, trash bag and picker in hand, so he can clean up litter and make it a safe place for neighborhood kids to play.
Felix used to go to the park just to listen to gospel music and walk his dog, but during a visit in 2015, he noticed how much trash was hidden in the grass, he told The Dallas Morning News. He started coming every day — except Sundays, when he goes to church — so he can pick up cans, junk mail, and plastic bags.
Felix, 30, has a mental disability, and while sometimes he's teased by people who can't understand him, others thank him for the hard work he does. He likes to get to the park early before children do, because he's found some dangerous things, including drugs and, one time, a gun. "See what I'm talking about?" he said after finding a baggie of what appeared to be marijuana. "Thank God I'm here."
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
