I've Been Busy

It has been more than a month since I've posted. And, for those of you who keep checking for new news, I've been here, but I haven't been here. What do I mean? I've been here, at home, around town, here; but not here, not at the blog, not up to the usual tasks. What have I been doing? I've been volunteering.



For the past few years I've volunteered to work at the neighborhood's Historical Shaw Art Fair http://www.shawartfair.com/ . This year I managed to volunteer to be the Volunteer Coordinator. My job was to recruit up to 300 volunteers to work on the days of the fair, October 6th and 7th, as well as pre-event and post-event activities. I can't think of anything to say to make all this sound humorous. Maybe I'll laugh about it later.

The planning starts every January for the Art Fair held every first weekend in October. A committee of ten or so people meet every month to plan and report the progression toward this event. As we get closer to Fair date, the work steps up and I become less and less available to my life as I knew it. In July, it is summertime, hot, humid and miserable. I don't feel like cooking, cleaning or smiling. Got to start actively calling for volunteers: newsletters, posters, phone calls. Got to get them into the data base and days at the office become more frequent, then longer. Mistakes must be corrected, shifts must be switched, and begging and convincing must be done. Ditto for August. Ditto for September, except the begging gets to be more desperate.

Finally, the weekend came--and then was gone. My head was down most of the time, looking at lists, checking boards, directing volunteers, handing out t-shirts, problem-solving. Collecting money, handing out programs, greeting fair goers. Blah, blah... All this with our table and tent directly behind the bandstand that boasted some good, but very loud bands. (The volunteer table will be moved next year.) "He" even pitched in, working for three days to help set up, then as admissions chair for two days--that's the person who gets to ride around in a golf cart from admissions gate to admissions gate and pick up the cash from time-to-time then taking it to the "bank." On the second day, the cart broke down then He was afoot all day, walking, I would guess, at least ten miles back and forth and around the fairgrounds. All this with good humor. I was impressed.

I took my camera to take some pictures, but only had time to take a couple at the very beginning. I'll try to get some from friends and post them for you. Anyway, there is no rest for the weary wicked, as I'm now off to the West Coast for a week or so. That will be the next post.

If we want a better world to live in, it starts with you and me and our communities.