A Volunteer Adventure in Everyday Ramblings

A glamor shot of a daisy I grew from seed at home and transferred down to the garden. There was much fretting about this plant and its ability to survive and it is a gift to see it thrive and produce flowers in what is now our fall.

The building painting has been a bit of a trial. The siding is painted, and I guess next week they will do the trim. After carefully power washing everything early in the week the guys broke the railing to my patio and left it hanging akimbo.

They are wrapping up for the weekend and my plants are back out on the patio catching the late low light. I will bring them back in on Monday, but for now they can rest in their natural habitat.

Yesterday was my big adventure. I went over midday to our convention center to volunteer at the League of Women Voters table registering people to vote that had just literally minutes before become U.S. citizens at the ceremony being held there.

There were about 500 people for the afternoon ceremony. Many family members and friends and besides a huge cheer for the Ukrainians becoming citizens the other fun thing during the ceremony was the little explosions of toddlers restless and fussy out the door with concerned parents chasing after. I am sure the little ones were picking up the excitement and enthusiasm of the parents.

This thing we take for granted, being citizens, these people are so happy to be fully enfranchised after the long-drawn-out process some initiated years ago. At the end of the ceremony, boom, hundreds, and hundreds of happy proud people.

There were only three of us there (the other two retired attorneys) for Oregon. Our Unit Discussion Coordinator was scheduled to be there, but she was exposed to Covid big time last weekend and has been in isolation. Both her roommate and doubles partner at tennis are sick with the virus.

I wore a good fitting N95 and so did the other woman volunteer. The guy arranging our whole thing did not wear a mask, nor did any of the attendees. I feel pretty safe as I did not take my mask off once until I got home, no water, nada. I am getting the bivalent booster and my flu shot next Friday.

We took 51 voter registrations on paper and told many more people how to do it online when they got home. For the day we got 127 registrations. The most in a day for the League in recent history. It was intense.

A happy intense though. I felt like it was worth it, and nobody had a problem with the mask, which was a relief.

The Peace Core was there recruiting, which I thought was kind of brilliant and the State Department for people applying for U.S. passports.

Mrs. Sherlock never came down with Covid, so that was a relief, and we are walking tomorrow.

Diego is having a rough day, first in a while. He is okay now, but it was a little worrisome earlier and messes to clean up. He is curled up here next to me with his paw over his eye.

The light today, here on this first full day of fall has been low and lovely. I hope where you are the change in seasons is a welcome relief.

I know that for the folks in oh say Puerto Rico or Pakistan things are tough and the seasonal change is a non-event in the laying down of difficult days. I can only hope that in the midst of the difficulty there are unexpected moments of cheer and comfort.

Heck, I wish that for all of us, wherever we are.

Last updated September 25, 2022