A Community Endeavor

Posted by natalie magnatta on 30 March 2011 · 2 Comments 

As I glanced out our apartment window on my way out the door to my Business Basics class, I noticed a man with a metal edger, standing in the street, attacking the ice buildup that had stubbornly set itself right on top of the street drain.  The street looked like a lake.

The man was old and rather round and fervently whacking away at a rather large pile of ice that has graced our curbside for the past four months.  The ice seemed determined to stay put for a few months more.

I wanted to go out and help the man, but my class was about to start and I was probably already late, try hard as I might to get anywhere on time.  So, I enlisted Chris.

“Go out there an help that man.  He’s old and he only has a little tool.  Bring a shovel.  Meet someone new.  Get to know your community.”

“What if he doesn’t want help?  He looks pretty happy to me. He probably wants to do it himself.”

Chris sat down again at his computer and I left the apartment.

Two and a half hours (and a new possible business idea) later, I come home.  The lake is gone, Chris is nursing blistered hands, and despite the pain, is much happier than when I left.  Turns out, that old man has lived on the street for 55 years and every year he comes out to clear the drains (except for the previous two years when he was too tired, but now thanks to a new kidney he’s back at it again).  Chris brought a shovel, learned the old man’s life story, and apparently also inspired other people from the neighborhood to come out as well. It made Chris happy, it made the old man happy, it made me happy, and I’m sure it will make everyone who drives or walks down our street happy, as they no longer have to trudge through a lake that stretched from one curb to another for the length of the block.

Another lesson in the benefits of getting involved in your community.  Thanks to Chris and the Old Man.

P.S. Chris says I have exaggerated some parts of the event.  I say I am telling a story.

Filed under Alaska, United States · Tagged with community