Wow factor in the entrance.
@postaday 277; #postaday2011.
This was one of those days that I gave up my regular bicycle ride, which I enjoy immensely, to contribute to the bigger community service effort my colleagues from The Mothership, aka HMSA, had been working on for several weeks. I’m glad I did.
Today the Big Bothers Big Sisters club house in urban Honolulu, near Washington Middle School, King Street Zippy’s, and between the McCully and Paawaa neighborhoods, got the finishing touches on a much-needed face lift. To see a before shot, click here. From what my colleagues told me, the tall fences were covered with vines that needed to be removed.
Canned rainbow.
For the past several weeks, my colleagues, under the direction of my manager Moani Wright-Van Alst, and Communications Program Manager Aloha Kim, have been cleaning up the landscaping and painting walls. One colleague, Bill Tobin, built redwood planter boxes and benches. Today we weeded some more, dug holes, and planted plants. I did a lot of watering. I lugged a full watering can around, and then I used a hose to water the beds to give all the new ti plants, areca palms, and garden vegetables the soaking necessary before the weed blocker and stones were spread.
Other colleagues painted, and two recognized graffiti artists created a vividly angular message that I guess I’d need to shed about 35 years to figure out. I could figure out “The Club,” but not the other one. That’s OK, right?
Everybody had a job to do.
Dennis Tengan and Albert Cercenia. Shaka Braddahs.
When we were done today, Lynette Lo Tom had a wonderful lunch waiting for us. Although I’d always look to Lynette for the best Chinese food ever, today she put before us Spanish rice, enchiladas, tossed salad, fruit and dessert. Lynette is a culinary champion.
I would like to think that I get the same satisfaction writing a check for a cause as I do working side by side with my colleagues, on my own time, on the weekend, getting dirty in a really hot place. It pales in comparison. Nothing makes dirty work go by quicker than sharing it with people you work with. You get to know each other a little better, you get beyond the work-only relationships and share a little bit more of yourself with others. As much as I love my solo weekend excursions on my bicycle, there is much to be said for the bonding that community service builds among colleagues. These are new opportunities to find joy!
A Photosynth panorama of the project.
