Two completely different images form in my head when I hear the word 'volunteer' - the first one is a Peace Corp volunteer giving polio immunizations in some third world country to starving orphans. The next is an 'older' woman (the term 'older' obviously is gett
ing older the older I get - she's about in her 70's already) serving tea with the full china-cup things in an auxiliary meeting where delicate ladies, all with Southern accents, nibble on cake and discuss how to make clown dolls for the children's ICU unit.Guess which kind of volunteer I want to be.
I live in a rural area, where the nearest town is relatively small (42,000, which is a huge thriving metropolis to some, the smallest city I've lived in so far), and has limited volunteer opportunities. We have a large percentage of retirees already, and I have friends who volunteer as VICAP drivers, in the public library, and take meals to the bed-bound (I'm sorry, doesn't that just sound like a masochistic delight?).
I guess I just want to be able to volunteer for wilderness medical trama that is only a very short walk from the nearest Pizza Hut. Perhaps animal rescue of only extrememly ugly creatures so I won't be tempted to take them all home. Helping homeless people who are nevertheless clean and well-groomed and don't smell. Assisting elderly people who are able to climb into the cab of my truck without help, are chatty and cheerful, and only need for services for about 8 minutes.
I guess I just want to be able to volunteer for wilderness medical trama that is only a very short walk from the nearest Pizza Hut. Perhaps animal rescue of only extrememly ugly creatures so I won't be tempted to take them all home. Helping homeless people who are nevertheless clean and well-groomed and don't smell. Assisting elderly people who are able to climb into the cab of my truck without help, are chatty and cheerful, and only need for services for about 8 minutes.
So - wannda ya think?
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