Today I’m MCing the downtown country fair in Willimantic. I’ve never even been before, and I’m hosting it. Apparently all the people they’d asked to do it backed out. I was the fool who said yes, I guess.
Part of me is looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to making all sorts of announcements from the stage. I hope there are some announcements to make from the stage. Otherwise, I’m going to be telling a lot of really dumb jokes and it’s going to be a very long and tedious day.
What do I plan on making room to say? the co-op is a community grocery store. It needs your help and your volunteer time. In fact, the whole community needs your volunteer time.
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The Red Cross is looking for blood, and while you’re at it, they’d like you to get trained in CPR and first aid training and know the signs for heart attack. I just did my CPR training on Friday, and I’m pledging to renew it every so often. Does your company have an automatic emergency defibrillator? My company does, and it saved someone’s life in August.
Have you supported a local park lately? Take your kids on an outing to pick up trash in a local or state park. Make use of the parks, and not just the playgrounds. Ask your kids to find five different kinds of leaves. If they come back complaining, ask them to come back with five stones. In a state park, they’ll soon be showing you frogs and salamanders and maybe snakes and dragonflies. Sure, some of them might get stung by hornets or bees, but they’ll be learning about nature, first hand. That’s good.
In the wake of emergencies like Hurricane KAtrina, lots of energy and volunteer time and money get sucked away from local services to support national level disasters. Remember to support your local soup kitchen, your local homeless shelter, your local food pantry. These are part of the fabric of our society, and they take your efforts to keep them open. Thank a policeman, a fireman for being available to help your community.
Local farms. Local Farms, LOCAL FARMS.
Take the time to meet and connect with your neighbors. Learn what you can do for them, and what they can do for you. We may never have an emergency, but your neighbors will either need your help, or you’ll need theirs. No one can go it alone in a crisis.
