When Tom Clark says that, he may or may not be talking about plastic wrappers or broken glass. But it’s a part of his day, every day. He stops to smell the roses, literally, at the same time he stops to pick up trash; small pieces of garbage discarded — accidentally or on purpose — along his walking route from Frank Street in Warren to Tops grocery store to buy a daily newspaper.

Tom, now 71, has done it for years; he carries a yellow plastic bag to pick up everything from cigarette butts to store receipts to empty pop cans.

“A lot of people say they have seen me picking up litter,” said Clark, humbled by any attention. “I’ve gotten more positive than negative comments.”

He does it, in part, because it’s who he is. “My dad was the same way; he would pick up cans and stuff,” Tom said.

His father was a preacher who officiated the wedding of Tom and Sue Ellen Clark in 1977. Tom has an Elementary Education degree and taught for a short time. He moved to Warren from Corry in 1991 straight out of barber training, but eventually settled in as a third-shift janitor at Blair.

Tom and Sue Ellen have three children, who all graduated from Warren Area High School, and who all now live outside the area.

The same year (2016) that Tom retired from Blair, Sue Ellen died at age 66.

“I’ve been living by myself since Sue passed away, (but) I’ve got a good church family at Calvary Baptist…,” said Tom.

Walking to Tops every morning for a newspaper is part of a routine he’s perfected, though he would never admit that.

Tom Clark is pictured with trash he has picked up on his daily route to Tops grocery store in Warren.

“I know there’s (pieces of garbage) I don’t see,” he joked.

And there’s been a couple of times that he’s picked up pieces of garbage and placed them in his white Tops bag by mistake, instead of the yellow garbage bag.

“I try to remember, don’t put litter in the white bag,” he said.

One time he picked up a bag in someone’s front lawn that he thought was garbage; it turned out to be fertilizer or grass seed the property owner was planning to use, he remembers.

“I felt so bad that I sent her some money,” said Tom.

But the positive far outweighs the negative in his memory, he said.

It’s necessary exercise, and “it makes the world a little better than before,” said Clark.

Necessary exercise because Clark had heart surgery in 2012. Once a year, he reports to his doctor and he wants it to always be a good report. So he walks every day.

“I give God the glory for any measure of health I might have,” he said, while bending over to pick up broken glass on the roadway.

“I just don’t want anybody getting a flat tire,” he added.

“I’ve always liked to walk, even when I was younger… I’d walk to school,” said Clark. “I walk slower now than I used to.”

But that allows Clark to enjoy the small details of life, like church bells or flowers.

“One of God’s beautiful creations — flowers,” said Tom, smelling a rose bush on his way home. “I don’t want to not take time to smell them.”

Things he would not see or hear if he were driving to the grocery store.

“People see me driving and say, ‘oh, you have a car?’ They didn’t think I did,” said Tom. “I do have a car. It’s a 2006 Mitsubishi Outlander. I drive, of course, to see my daughter in Bradford, and I drive out to Walmart usually. It’s probably a 3-or-4-mile walk. I’ve done that on the bike trail. It’s a long trip, and of course, there’s a lot of litter on the trail to pick up; it takes me longer.

“Walking is healthier, plus you save on gas… it’s a lot cheaper in Ohio,” added Tom. He has a son who lives in Ohio, another in Minnesota.

It’s the small details Tom can’t ignore. The COVID pandemic changed that slightly.

“You wouldn’t believe how many masks I picked up,” said Tom. “I always had to use my hand sanitizer… They were all over the place, and I still see them once in a while. Maybe I should wear gloves, but I don’t like doing that.”

Tom admits his routine might seem like nothing special. He heads back from Tops to his home where he will read his newspaper and eat his morning breakfast. But, like he’s told his children, it doesn’t hurt to “dream small.” It’s a reminder that the little things matter. They always matter.

“I carry bags in my pocket, two or three or four…,” said Tom. “I try to keep Warren looking a little better. That’s why I do this. Not the whole city, it’s just the path I go… It’s a daily thing. You saw how much I picked up in one day.”