Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Late winter blues?

Perhaps I am just getting old, but I am feeling a little disenchanted.  I have been back to the park only a few times since my last post. Here's what I notice. The work that needs to be done isn't getting done by anyone: not by the police, not by park employees, not by new volunteers and certainly not by litterers. If I'm not there, no one else seems to care. I don't want to come across as a winy old man, but I'm feeling a little alone. When I was coming every day to the park, I really believed progress was being made. I thought litterers were beginning to see that there was a renewed interest in keeping the woods clean. I asked for and got the help of the park rangers and the management staff. I was encouraged to meet a few people who were volunteering. Now, after 6 or 7 weeks away, I see the same  patterns I noticed last March when I likened my progress to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned by the gods to eternal frustration. I'm the kind of person that needs to see results. If the community isn't going to care about how the park is being used, if the administration doesn't show it cares without being prodded, if no one else is volunteering, and if the litterers are back in force, why should I care?

Spring is just around the corner. Soon, the understory will begin growing back and the migratory birds will be returning. I'll be drawn there again to witness this magical transformation, but I can't say for sure I'll be returning to the work I've been doing these last two years. After all, roll that stone up the hill too many times only to see it roll right back down again and you begin to feel a little pissed off! No gods have condemned me to doing this work. I may be a little compulsive, but I am no Sisyphus.