Summer Projects

I never thought I would be capable of saying this but here goes, I don't care to much about my plants this year. I no longer go out to stare at a leaf, wonder at the progress of a spider, worry about disturbing a toad. Nope. I hardly even go out in the yard. I only water everything because I am afraid God will come out of the heavens and arrest me for murder if I don't. Maybe my lack of interest stems (pardon the pun) from the fact that very few flowers bloomed for me this year; maybe it's the extreme heat; maybe it was my preoccupation with the beach because of the oil disaster. I don't know. This year, I am interested in getting to know the neighborhood personalities. The 30A corridor is populated by a relatively few residents. We have lots of visitors but it looks like a ghost town here right after a hurricane when the only ones who want to be here actually live here full-time. Anyhow, since I'm not working at an office anymore, I have more time to get to know my neighbors. It's a good group. I don't know everyone of course but I see the same people over and over around town. I say hi to more people here everyday than anywhere I've ever lived before. It's a group worth teasing a little. We seem to have a lot of benefits per ca pita. We have a non-profit groups galore (I support a several myself). Some are environmental groups, some are beautifying the area in some way, many help the under served, all are worthwhile. Still, I wonder with all the energy we put into our charitable organizations and social causes, how anyone has time to support themselves. Right now, I'm very involved in Community Walton which strives, as a part of it's mission, to make sure goods and services actually get to those who need them. This year, via a calendar contest, event and auction, we are working to get Call 2-1-1 for Walton County. It's a United Way effort to connect the help where it's needed with one phone call. And in the process, maybe we will connect all our causes and efforts so that we achieve our ultimate goals. I hope/wish we could all work to do that somehow for the country. Watching our national politics is like watching a boxing match without the benefit of an ending round. But that's another and I know it's complicated so right now, here's to looking toward and for good, starting locally.