Despite a hard weekend pedicabbing during the Surf Expo and Home & Garden show at the OCCC, I still wanted to do some good deeds for the world since I had the day off from my regular job and there are no events that I’ll be driving for until the PGA merchandise show during the last weekend of the month. My thighs were still feeling the burn from the weekend but since I already signed up to volunteer, I wasn’t gonna back out. I had to choose between a John Young Parkway cleanup for UCF Alumni or a community cleanup in my neighborhood for Rebuilding Together Orlando. It was a no-brainer which one I was gonna do.
UCF emails me about opportunities. For everything else, I gotta search for them. Volunteermatch.org had some website issues for a while but they’ve been resolved and I peep that site occasionally and found out that there was something going on in Tangelo Park. I sent my email of interest right away when I made up my mind about it. I printed my waiver form last night. The meeting place was less than a 10 minute walk from my house. It was cold in the morning but heated up in no time. I really had no idea what to expect. When I got there, they had 2 tents with tables setup. I didn’t grab any pics or video. A Channel 9 videographer was out there, some other cats were videotaping, and a chick was taking pics. WFTV might do a quick piece on it when they finish editing and a guy did take my pic and said it and all the rest should be on their website soon. No group pic which is something they should have done to start things out.
I gave them my waiver form and had to sign a release form from the NBA to use my likeness any way they see fit. I had no idea the NBA was affiliated with this. After that, they gave out some NBA Cares shirts to work in. The chick handing them out asked for my shirt size. I asked if Fruit of the Loom was the manufacturer of the shirts. They weren’t but to be on the safe side, I took an extra large shirt and it fit like a large so I made the right call. I’ll never buy FotL products ever again. They fucking suck. Their shit shrinks when you heat dry it. Waste of money. I’m a Hanes man all the way!
After that, I just chilled and waited for instructions on what to do. I noticed they were setting up food (pastries and bagels) and coffee (no OJ or milk) and asked if I could get something. The older chick serving told me to wait so I did. Then I saw people helping themselves so I figured I’d do the same damn thing. She wasn’t there when I was doing it and I didn’t see the harm in it. Then she came back and started acting like a bitch. Told me to put back what I was taking. I had already touched the pastries I wanted. She said it didn’t matter and that I should wait to be served. Then she started talking stupid bullshit like she was gonna give it to someone else and that she’d rather throw it all away than give it to me. She was trying to hook me into her bullshit but I didn’t fall for any of that. She clearly doesn’t know that I deal with people with personalities like hers on a regular basis. The key is to not let them reel you in.
I maintained my professionalism, kept it positive, reminded her to do the same thing considering what day it was and why we were all there, and didn’t feed into any of the negativity. I didn’t stoop to her level. There were people who witnessed it but didn’t say anything or intervene because it was stupid and unnecessary. The big boss of the whole shindig stepped in to find out what was going on. He was professional the entire time and it got diffused just like that. I told him what was going on, he let me get my shit, and that was that. She didn’t want me to have it and still wanted to give it to someone else, anyone but me, but again, I had already touched the shit. I know that don’t mean shit to some nasty ass people but I ain’t eating food some strange person has put their hands all over. There are no quality controls in that environment unlike a restaurant. When I went over to get my food, she was still being bossy towards me, telling me not to come over and to not come any closer. Man, fuck that shit. You don’t know me, I don’t know you so stop with all that trippin’.
Later, boss man apologized for the situation. It wasn’t necessary because it wasn’t his fault. I told him straight out he needs to teach her some customer service skills. He acknowledged that she may not know how to deal with people and I can understand that. Some people don’t work with the public and have no idea how to handle or talk to strangers. The thing is, you handle and talk to them the same way you handle and talk to anyone else: with fucking respect. I didn’t have no beef with her because I don’t focus on the negative. People like her do and that energy creates what happened. It was squashed and we co-existed fine after that. I do like to see true colors ahead of time though and she showed hers. We can co-exist but I wouldn’t trust her or associate with someone like her under any circumstances.
This was what amounts to cleaning up and making pretty the main entrance to the neighborhood. I did a little bit of everything. I got work gloves from them and began by raking leaves and debris from the areas closest to Sand Lake Road. The meeting place was at the Chevron station that seems to undergo new management more than a pizza restaurant. I was wearing my hoodie but had to take that shit off because it got hot quick. Some landscapers were out there trimming palm trees that had thorns on them and those fucking thorns left my arms scratched up pretty good. Nothing deep but it’s like a light scratch from a cat. You can feel the sting but you can’t see the scar.
We bagged all that up and I went on to other things like wheelbarrowing over to the dumpster some other bags, leaves, and trimmed branches. And I laid down some grass, swept the sidewalk, and tossed out some old plants. I’d really like to think a lot of that’s gonna get recycled somehow. People were out there replanting and painting but I didn’t do any of that. They were also fixing up some homes in the area. One was down the street but I didn’t bother to go see what was happening although I could see the crowd of people at it. I did see Nick Anderson briefly where I was. I just finished watching the Magic beat the Knicks and they talked about what was going on in my hood and showed pictures of him working. That’s how I know he was actually doing shit instead of just popping in and out for a photo opp.
I was talking to some older guys and the way it works is if you own your home and it’s pretty fucked up, then you could qualify for assistance from the Rebuilding Orlando Together program. I don’t know the full deets but Nick might be putting up some of his own dough or the league might be to give back to the community. One organizer said that pro athletes make so much money but not many of them give back and he appreciated what Nick was doing. I can agree with that because the major leaguers make millions of dollars that will never get spent in their lifetime (unless they’re MC Hammer) so why not spread the wealth and help those who truly need it? The agenda set here today is in line with my own and I was more than happy to help. But, and there’s always a but, it doesn’t do a damn thing to promote racial unity which is what MLK’s message was all about.
There were people from all walks helping out, including scouts, kids, moms, and seniors. Black, White, Spanish, Asian, you name it. Good diversity here and not everyone was from the neighborhood either. It represented what MLK wanted but the message wasn’t driven further into the skulls of the people that were there. Racism is mostly an attitude passed down by parents to their kids and the cycle repeats itself. Another form is simply a bad experience with a particular race and the entire race gets labeled based on the actions of one or a few. The former can be curtailed. The latter can’t. What I’m getting at here is that racism is here to stay. It ain’t goin’ nowhere and it’s a problem not unique to the United States. Every country on the planet has racism. It’s a human condition and as long as we’re here, racism will be too. There’s nothing MLK or anyone else could have or can do to stop it unless a nigga wanna go Hitler on a motherfucker. But we can still promote racial unity with the full understanding that racism will always be present. Personally, I want global unity. That’s another part of my agenda.
The dumpster was becoming a problem because there was only one. Big boss joked with me that every time he saw me, I was eating. I had to briefly explain that since I do what I do for a living (pedicabbing), I gotta keep the calories coming and the body hydrated. I ain’t fully healed up yet. It takes a few days for the leg soreness to go away. I need my protein but they only had fruit and bread. I gobbled up 2 brownie pieces. I skipped out on the bananas, apples, and oranges and opted in for some focaccia from Panera Bread. Guess who sliced it and served it for me? Yep, the older broad who gave me a hard time earlier. Maybe she saw the error in her ways but only for the time being. The real her had already been revealed. They had a big portable toilet with hand sanitizer, too, and that helped because I was fully prepared to take a piss behind a tree or some bushes if I had to. You think I wouldn’t? You better fuckin’ think again!
Some of that shit out there was heavy so I took it upon myself to use some of it, like heavy trash bags and plants, to get a small workout in. My deltoids were feeling some good burn and not from the sun. What was funny was when some others were raking up leaves and then the wind kicked up and the damn trees started dropping leaves all over the place again. Them trees was like, “You cut off our limbs and you think we’re gonna make this easy on you? FURK DAT!” Part of the purpose of raking was to give the new grass a good foundation to grow. It was all dead but it’ll green over in the spring more than likely. One landscaper gave some pointers on the proper way to pick up the stacks. We both talked about proper outdoor clothes because when I’m out pedicabbing, my whole body is covered just like his was. I wasn’t wearing the right clothes today because I didn’t know what this was gonna be like. I tried to stick to shady areas but my last assignment was to fill the second dumpster. That exposed me to the vitamin D-rich rays of the almighty sun and I broke out my first sweat.
The first dumpster was overflowing and I had to empty some shit off the top of it so the garbage people could wrap it to take it away. Then I had the task of properly refilling the second one with all the shit that was piling up on the outside like branches and bags. I had a plan, shared it, and we got it done with some good old fashioned teamwork. For a while, I was thinking that some of the senior citizen broads were just there with their hubbies and sitting around waiting on them to finish but they eventually got going throughout the day. Something like this is good for old folks to stay active and at the same time, they’re doing good for the world. I talked to one guy who did my yard when I first moved to the neighborhood. Hadn’t seen him since then. He asked if I was religious or part of any church. The answer is no to both. He asked if I believed in life after death. No to that too. He asked if I believed in heaven or hell. I do but not in the way he was thinking. Heaven and hell are both right here on Earth and you can make your life become either one based on your personal decisions. He asked if I believed in Christ. I do but not in the way he was thinking for that one either. Jesus existed as a person but he wasn’t god or had any superpowers or any of that bullshit. One thing I don’t need or want in my life is religion or spirituality. My life is positive and on the right track without either of those things and if people started believing in themselves more, theirs would be too. Faith in yourself and your fellow human is what I think people should have. With that, this world would truly be a utopia and it can be.
A landscaping guy was walking down the sidewalk with a chainsaw and I made a joke that of all the people out there, he was the one I was gonna make sure to move for. Another chick joked on a different occasion if she could get a ride since I was pushing a wheelbarrow. I was like, “Yeah, hop in.” That’s what I do for a living anyway and I say the exact same thing to potential passengers but she wasn’t gonna leave a tip, I’m pretty damn sure about that. A phone number, I might have taken it. Maybe. Another chick who was helping fill the second dumpster was having a little too much fun in it. She was jumping up and down to compress everything. I asked her if she’d been to Rebounderz and apparently she had been because she commented on how tough it was. I told her it looked like she was there since she was hopping around so much. And yes, Rebounderz is fucking tough. Fun but tough. She had someone take her picture while she was in the dumpster. Good move by her to take the pic on her own phone because if it was someone else’s, she might end up in a motivational poster on 4chan or some shit.
One girl did something stupid, I forget what, and she said, “Dangit!” That shit made me laugh out loud because it reminded me of the second episode of the Napoleon Dynamite cartoon. When his robe blew open and he said that same shit, it always leaves me in tears. I didn’t think real people even used that word anymore. I stand corrected. Hot chicks? There were some decent lookin’ girls but they weren’t there doing any of the grinding. They were more coordinating and doing camera stuff. Hot guys? Well, I ain’t gay or bi so I couldn’t tell you. If you’re a single chick lookin’ for a guy of a certain quality, then get your ass out of the house and volunteer instead of going to the bar and the club. Maybe you’ll find his ass. Always remember that volunteering is a great networking tool.
I got a text from the Magic that the game was at 1pm today. After all the junk that was laid out was inside the second dumpster, I collected my shit and proceeded to walk back home. This was supposed to be from 8:30am to noon but I bounced around 12:45pm. Other cats were probably out there for a lot longer because there was plenty of work to be done. I did what I set out to do. I came home, hit the shower, ate a big salad from Target (because it’s important for us negroids to eat our leafy green vegetables), and watched my team win a good game. Minus old girl’s drama, it was a good day for volunteering. Got to meet some new people, support my community, and do a good deed even though my legs could have done without any manual labor or strenuous activities for another day or two. But it was my choice. I’ll be aight.
