Call me a curmudgeon, as some of my friends do, and I’ll plead guilty.

Whether based on fact, or just strong personal opinions, I take a stand on many subjects. Based on that premise, it’s time to mount a soapbox and expound on one of my favorite topics — bottled water.

In the not too distant past, I thought that people walking around with a bottle of water were just demonstrating an affectation, which I hoped would not last long. How wrong my thought, and hopes, were. Looks like it is here to stay; it has become de rigueur.

And of course the water can rarely be the plain, ordinary, generic supermarket store brand; it has to be “designer stuff” which naturally comes at a premium price. People have become as fashion conscious with their water as with their clothes.

How, and perhaps more importantly why, has it all happened? A large part of the answer, of course, is that so many people nowadays believe that you shouldn’t drink tap water. It’s not safe, and you will probably become ill.

Some people find that tap water tastes a little “funny.” I never have, but if someone does find that a problem, they can just use one of the numerous filter devices available. Unfortunately, I think this perceived need for bottled water has reached many families that can ill afford to purchase it, but feel that they have to.

It’s not that I’m suggesting that there is no need to adequately replenish our bodies with water. Of course there is, since the average person is about 60 percent water. My concern is the way we seem to be going about it. Why the need to constantly have water by our side? Have we become a nation, or a world, with a constant thirst?

Where did eight glasses a day come from? This is the number, probably arbitrary, which is supposedly required to help maintain a healthy body. Is any consideration given to whether one weighs 100 pounds or 250 pounds?

While on the subject of quantity, let’s not forget other sources of water — like coffee, tea, milk, soft drinks, wine, fruit juice, beer, etc. — as well as many foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. The mentioned liquids are mostly water, and a very large majority of fruits and vegetables consist of more than 80 percent water.

As marvelous as the human body is, I doubt very much if it thinks, “Oh, this is not water, it’s water and coffee beans, or water and red pulp, or water and whatever.”

Bottled water appears everywhere, and unfortunately seems to have become the norm. In movies and TV shows actors open the refrigerator, take out a bottle and take a sip. Doesn’t the sink faucet work? The bottles appear at social events, political and judicial meetings, offices, schools, in cars, etc., with people constantly sipping.

Are they in fear of dehydrating and blowing away like dust?

I have been involved with coaching high school sports for many years, and will mention two events that were observed first hand. One athlete had an empty Gatorade bottle, and asked me if I knew where he could fill it. I pointed to a faucet on the side of a nearby building, and his comment was, “You can’t drink that water — it’s just for washing cars.”

Another time a boy would not drink from a fountain at a rest stop because, “That water comes from a hose in the ground.”

This unfounded logic probably comes from the parents who no doubt, unfortunately, believe it themselves. Not only will this thinking not go away, it will be passed on.

One thing that I have not mentioned above is the environmental impact of this ridiculous use of bottled water. Petroleum and coal are required to produce and recycle the bottles, if indeed they are recycled at all. Go to any athletic facility, business establishment, or school, and I venture to say that you will see garbage containers filled with empty bottles. Not to mention how many more will be on the floors as litter. We have all seen how much bottles litter outdoors. There have been proposals made suggesting the collecting of bottle deposits, which may help reduce littering, but would not reduce the need for manufacturing or recycling fuels.

If a person feels a strong need for a water companion, I’ll suggest the obvious. Utilize a refillable bottle. Wow, what a novel, original idea.

With a little luck it may even catch on.

 Jack Hailand

City of Tonawanda