A Worthwhile Punishment

They say that "No good deed goes unpunished", and how true that little prophecy is. Why? No one really knows, but it happens more times than nath that someone sets out to be a kind and helpful soul, only to be rewarded by bad luck and suffering. Oh the joys of life; almost makes one not want to be helpful. But, then I think this saying is also a barrier of courage that a truly helpful, do-gooder would hear, ponder for all of a second, and plow head first into with their good intentions. It's only a caution sign to those unafraid of words, to the special people, that no matter what, will always help another, even if that is to be the cause of their downfall.

I've been extremely bored lately, probably caused by lack of work and people to hang out with, so I took the initiative to find a means of entertainment for my depressed soul, and I found REI's, Big Sunday's, and the Children's Nature Institutes's trail/garden weeding, maintenance day in Griffith Park. I like nature, being outdoors, and helping people, so I figured, "what the hell, I'll help out." Plus, I thought that I might meet some cool people to future befriend or maybe, possibly, a job contact.

I usually fret about doing things on my own, mostly because I feel comfortable with a wingman - someone who I know will be around as a fall back in case I can't find anyone to talk to or someone to keep me from looking/acting like an idiot in front of others. My wingman doesn't have to hang by my side the entire time I'm somewhere, but it's just comforting to know that there is another person about who understands me and will save me from myself if something awkward should arise (i.e. a weird 55-year-old trying to dance with and kiss me, me becoming a wallflower on the wall of a socialite party, my foot jamming itself in my mouth as I try to defend an opinion, etc.). Yeah, wingman make life simpler and safer.

I arrived at 9:00 am last Saturday morning at Griffith park, attired in men's cargo pants with gardening gloves sticking out of the right knee pocket, an old t-shirt, a water bottle, and my good intentions; no wingman/woman about. I'd called and sent out a Facebook request for people to join me, but all were unable to attend (although some wanted to, even my friend, Stephanie from St. Louis, although that's a little far to travel for 3 hours of easy labor.) It was me and my "social outgoingness", along with 50 or so other volunteers, who would have the lovely task of deweeding the Children's Nature Institutes's plant garden as well as the path that ran through the garden.

People of all ages, parents with their children (some being less then a year to High School age), couples, single individuals, and friends all milled about with shovels, gloves, and rakes waiting to be put to work. It was kind of refreshing to see such a diverse group of people coming out on a random Saturday to dig up hiking trails and plant new trees. There truly are selfless people in the world and it's nice to have faith that society (or just Los Angeles) isn't totally filled with evil, backstabbing social climbers.

The main gardener took the first group of volunteers, 15 people including myself, on a mini tour of the garden and trail while explaining what was a plant and what was a weed. I think I understood 2 of the 10 plants he told us were weeds and to be pulled because of the lovely tall people who stood between me and the gardener. Once the gardener released us to clear the trail of evil cannibalistic plants, a group of 4 volunteers and myself took up positions in one quadrant of the garden and started to pull everything that looked suspicious of being a "weed" with hope of not pulling out a plant that was suppose to be in the garden. Most of the "good plants/non weeds" were marked with white tabs, so I didn't worry too much about accidentally killing something that should have remained in the garden (although it did happen, I think twice, but there are always causalities in war - a weeding war)

Three of the other 4 people working in the same area as me all knew each other and were the first to instigate conversation with me; which was nice because I'd been trying to think of something to say to them besides "Hi," and "what do you do when you're not yanking weeds out of the ground?" It turns out that "you can't throw a shoe in Los Angeles without hitting a Producer," according to Paulette; she worked as a Film Producer. Her Boyfriend and his friend worked in animation and the last person deweeding in our area was a pianist from the LA Symphony. We all got along great and chatted, pulled plants from the earth, and dug holes for 3 hours.

Paulette and her friends named themselves, "Group Awesome", and made me an honorary member. It was refreshing to have not known anyone when I started the day and then to have become part of a group, all within 2 hours of initially meeting. I guess I don't really need a wingman; I can actually accomplish "being social" on my own, I just have to be open to the idea. So, my good deed for the day/week/maybe year produced a morning of being helpful to the Children's Nature Institute and a couple of interesting people's company. It was a win win situation for all parties involved.

One day later, I noticed a small rash on my arms. A couple hours after noticing the rash, it began to itch. By Monday afternoon the rash had spread and the itching had gotten annoying. It's Tuesday evening now, the rash has covered both of my forearms, one eye, and some parts on my leg. I guess that's what I get for scratching. So, here's where the punishment of my good deed comes into play...Poison Oak. I didn't heed the warning and got life's unfair just deserts...but for a day outdoors, soaking up Vitamin D and socializing with actually people, I wouldn't have given up for anything. :)