Day Six in Pass C

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What a rewarding day. I worked today with my friend and host Lou Rizzardi on his yard. Doesn't sound like much, but it really made both of us feel better. He claims that this "saved his life" but that is overly dramatic. He really meant that removing the visual burden of coming home everyday and seeing the amount of work that still needs to happen on his yard was incredibly helpful to his psyche. Here are my observations for the day:

1. Volunteers need help, too.

From working with Lou, I could tell how exhausted he was, but how much he needed to take care of himself and his family, and have a day off from helping others. I hope that the community can honor the local volunteers as well as as the non-community volunteers. I met so many Pass residents who could also use a hand with their own homes: Shaterra, Jeannie, Sally, ...

2. Restorative work has its immense benefits.

I was impressed to see how helpful working on their own home was to Lou and Wilma. Working in the yard and sitting down to work on a project seemed to offer them some sense of mental rest.

3. Coversations from an armchair.

This evening, instead of continuing with another home project, Wilma and Lou and I sat around and talked about ideas for the town, including supporting businesses by offering sponsorships of flower pots, bringing in more skilled labor, moving people from hand outs to helping themselves, talking about big box vs boutique shops, raising awareness, and the like. It was all good stuff, and despite my hopes of getting to be before midnight, another late night ensued. It is tough trying to keep up with night owls.

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