Here's what I see:
1 - A person uses a leafblower to blow leaves off a certain area of land - their front lawn, the sidewalk, etc.
2 - The wind or some person causes the leaves to return to that area of land within 1-2 business days.
3 - Said person is aggravated by the result of leaves on their lawn/sidewalk.
Here's what I don't get:
Everyone knows the leafblower doesn't actually get rid of the problem (ie: leaves in a certain geographic area) - there's indisputable, physical, EVIDENCE! But, leafblowers are still used... because it makes us feel like we are doing something. No one wants to feel like they've done nothing. Everyone wants to feel they've contributed in some way (I think) to the greater good. And when you do something with a leafblower, there's a certain level of control (a false feeling if ever there was one), pride in labor (even though the machine did all the work), and righteousness of accomplishment...This way when the leaves are blown back, I now have the right to complain and bemoan the work I did. Why is the world against me? I try and try and everything goes wrong. I worked hard to get rid of those leaves. How dare you (wind?) belittle my work by sending me back to square one? When we set ourselves up for failure, we'll invariably succeed at it.
But what happens when we actually do the work to find a solution and ensure the result is more long-standing? Well, when people rake leaves into a bag (or vacuum them - those are cool machines!) and take the bags to a compost pile, the area that was cleared of leaves remains cleared (at least until more leaves fall - but that's another topic altogether!). The same leaves that were 'moved' by the leafblower could just as easily be 'removed' by other means, if proper planning, effort, and tools were used to complete the job.
So how about we stop doing work, just to say we are working, even when we know the result is not achievable with the tools we are using? How about we look at the desired outcome, then actually take steps to make that outcome a reality, using tools that will ensure a long-term result? How about instead of giving ourselves reasons to complain about the outcome, we try to figure out where we may have been at fault in creating the circumstances, and just do better next time?
Pick up a rake. Do something that makes a real difference.*