Trail Talk – October 2014

I remember 45 years ago, sitting peacefully tying flies for an order Abercrombe & Fitch had put in, and my mother saying, “Mrs. Riley could sure use a hand today running some errands. I told her you’d be right over.” Oh man…she did it again! Mom knew how to get results by the cleverest of methods. At first, I thought she just wanted to help a neighbor… I’d learn her two-fold intent years later.

I’d run down to Mrs. Riley’s house, get the shopping list she’d scribbled-out with her gnarled, 80-year-old, shaky hand, and head to the market. I must admit to grumbling along the way, wishing I could get back to my hooks, feathers, and fur, but at least I got to drive the family car! I’d complete my assignment, stock the vacant shelves in Mrs. Riley’s impossibly-immaculate kitchen, kindly decline her offer of payment, then briskly walk back home beaming with a sense of self-pride. Mom would greet me with a glass of lemonade, and say “There, now doesn’t that feel good?”

I really didn’t deserve to feel that way, as it was my mom’s initial “suggestion,” not mine! Had it been my brainchild to be a good scout, I could have owned that feeling lock, stock, and barrel.

To this day, I still think it was mom’s two-fold intent to help an aging friend, while also instilling in ME the notion of volunteering and helping someone else without being asked… to get off my teenage duff and look beyond my own self-interests. You know what, Mom was right… always was.

That’s why I still volunteer to help-out here in Jacksonville. After all, this little hamlet is worth it, isn’t it? When I return home after a couple hours of pulling goat heads with Rick Murdoch , I feel like I’ve kept an evil invader at bay, and for at least a while, our cute little town can breathe a sigh of relief from the thorny menace. It’s the same thing with picking-up trash, or helping build a bridge, or cutting a downed tree from a woodland trail. It’s a great feeling! Most of the time the efforts go without really being recognized, and that’s okay.

There are many ways to volunteer throughout the year. You can sign-up through the Jacksonville Woodlands’ website (www.jvwoodlands.org ) to assist with occasional projects, you can pick-up that candy wrapper from the sidewalk instead of passing it by, or you can return the shopping cart for someone instead of leaving it in the middle of the parking lot. It’s your choice.

Our dedicated volunteers in town are being volunteered to death, and could use a bolstering of the ranks. By taking that extra little step, you too would learn what Mom taught me years ago. And yes, it does feel good. Join me in finding a way to make a difference.

For a list of volunteer opportunities in Jacksonville, please visit jacksonvillereview.com/volunteer-organizations.

Featured image is of JWA volunteers Gary Sprague and Tony Hess at Jacksonville Forest Park.