Monday, September 15, 2008

The Perils of Community Service

I volunteered to help out with LAAFF--Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival, I believe. I like it because it's local. Local artists, local bands, local attendees. It's a refreshing change from Bele Chere, the annual traffic jam of food, beer, and generally lousy music that takes over our town once a year.
Anyway, I volunteered for Trash and Recycling. I pictured myself with a colorful plastic garbage bag, walking around and picking up things people had dropped. Turned out, my job was to don big gloves and go to stations where there were 3 cans: one for landfill, one for recycling, one for everything else, and DIG through them, find the stuff that was in the wrong can and move it to the right can.
Later, when I got sick, it occurred to me that I spent two hours handling peoples' half-eaten food, cups, diapers, kleenexes and napkins. That was in addition to the muscle spasm that started in my shoulder blade and crept to my neck, incapacitating me for several days.
It's all better now. Next week's community service: House Manager for Moving Womens' Dance for Peace. That can't be dangerous.

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