Note to self: do not stay up until well after 1 when you've signed up to participate in Neighborhood Cleanup Day, which starts at 8 freakin' a.m.
But I made that choice, so I reported for duty, ready and willing, to assist in cleaning and beautifying the Ward.
I am greeted with biscuits and fruit and neighbors, including one who once occupied my apartment before the building was renovated.
They hand me an industrial-sized trash bag and a picker-upper tool.
Scanning the clipboard for available assignments, I am told that the goal is to assign workers clean-up tasks for areas around where they live.
Everything near me is taken so they choose a random street.
And here's the irony: it's the one and only street in Jackson Ward I don't want to go near.
It's the one where I lived for several happy years before being dumped.
It's the one where my ex still resides.
It's the one full of memories, both great and devastating.
It's the last place I want to clean up trash.
But what could I say to these nice people making the assignment?
"Oh, no, I really couldn't. You see, the man who broke my heart lives on that street."
I don't think that's done.
So I take my bag and tool and head up to Broad Street to start the death march down the street as far as Brook Road.
Candid admission: I couldn't do his side of the street on his block.
I cleaned up the other side, but just couldn't make the leap to pick up trash in front of that house.
I hope the J-Ward trash gods will understand.
I used the rest of the morning to clean alleys and behind trash cans on nearby blocks.
Several people commented that there was far less debris this clean-up than in the past, so maybe we're making progress in raising people's awareness of not trashing the neighborhood.
And while I may have slacked a bit on my assignment, I did fill my industrial-sized bag nearly to capacity, so I like to think I did my part to the best of my ability.
J-Ward looks especially glorious today. And I helped.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
fierce! your honesty is so cool to read,i wish i could do it.
ReplyDelete