>Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 20:21:33 -0700 >To: aclist@etr-associates.org >From: Charlie Ford >Subject: Warning: Mothership Ahead #1 > >One more time. I am swallowing my pride. > >Hi my name is Charlie (bubba) Ford, I am traveling around the country in my VW bus, and I am in need of some feeding. I love to gorge myself on steak potatoes and service (no offense intended to the vegie folks out there). > >I am country and quite simple in mind. I have traveled from Georgia to Seattle in 6 months. Time is not a factor for me this year. I am celebrating turning 40. > >I have to warn you, I may post an essay every now and then. And you may disagree with its relavance,and the passion I clearly try to portray in my writing. If you don't want to read it, delete it, if you do read it and disagree with it........ discuss it! Justify your discussion and let me know why you don't agree with it. Then I can grow from your experience, and you maybe can grow from mine. > >Here is my first post. This was a facilitated session I did with my members the first year I was involved with National Service, 1993. They had a goods time with it, maybe this list can too. Be as trivial or as large in the items you post as you want. maybe we will all be able to have something to paste to the wall of our office. I will paste it to the window of my bus, The Mothership (long story). > >Subject: Basic Service > >For the entire day I have been thinking about people, and how they serve >each other in their daily lives. Of course there are many different >degrees that people take this worthwhile "right" thing to do. In this >essay I just want to talk about basic giving in our everyday lives. Things >we sometimes don't even think about, and things we may need to think more about. > >I am one that believes that there is no such thing as "common service". >Service is like a savings account, the more you put in, the more benefit >you draw. The more service you do, the better your kharma is for the >future. The good you do is not lost, although sometimes the ungrateful >people make us think it is. > >How many times have we had our day brightened by someone letting us have a >parking spot that they also had an opportunity to occupy? How many times >have we dropped something only to have some stranger reach down and pick it >up, or even help us carry the article to our car if our arms were already full. >These are all benefits reeped from our "good deeds done". > >The fact is that people these days are "service impaired". We are so inundated with pride, or fear, or ism's that we don't consider the basics of building up our account. Just think if we took care of the simple then it makes it easier for us to take care of the large things of service we do. > >In AmeriCorps, we have to promote not only the biggy issues of change, but also the minuet issues of change. The basic every day things people do to be of service. > >The people that call themselves "servants" have to make >it their lifestyle, something that is just as much a part of their being as an >arm, or a leg, or a brain. The service we perform as "people of service" has to be >performed without regard to any discriminating factors at all. We have to serve >everyone, every day and night, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, with or >without pay. We may not be where we can, but we must always be at the >ready call in case our service is needed. In doing this, we as AmeriCorps reps start setting a visible working model of what we ant people and our society to become. We are not only teaching the concept but we are modeling the concept in very basic and simple ways. > >In thinking about this matter I started listing in my mind the most basic >things people can do to be of service to others. I started listing this in >an effort to improve myself, thereby improving the quality of life for >those around me. If I do more service, even little things of service, then >I am promoting the concept more. I am building myself up, and the ones I >help are also having an example of lifestyle set for them. We all come out >in the good in the end. > >The list is not broken down into categories so you might see anything that >pertains to anything. It might be something you can even use as a facilitated session on your next training day. > >My list so far: >-Open a door for someone. >-close a door for someone. >-help someone with their packages. >-tell someone their shoe is untied. >-give someone a light. >-pull over to help a stranded motorist. (this is a standing rule for VW bus >owners) >-give a person some change so they won't have to break another bill, or >drop your change into the "need a penny, take a penny" cup. >-pick up a few cigarette butts on your way into the office. >-help someone push their broken car out of the road. >-allow a person trying to change lanes an opportunity to change lanes. >-wave at people you pass on the road, no matter if you know them or not. >-buy a cup of coffee for the next guy in line at the cafe checkout counter. >-say hello to the highway department person holding the little stop/slow >sign in the construction zone. >-give a stray animal a piece of food, or buy a can of food and dump it for >the animal. >-say good morning to the person at the toll booth. >-say good evening to the security of your building when you leave. >-make people laugh by saying little one liners. >-say thank you in a meaningful fashion. >-smile. >-cook dinner and invite the neighbors over. >-help the elderly person down the street mow their lawn. >-give a homeless person your change. >-say thanks to a veteran. >-stop and get a piece of debris out of the road. >-help someone fix a flat. >-jump someones battery off. >-pay someones bus fare. >-strike up a conversation with someone on the metro. (especially in DC) >-bring the office some flowers. >-take some poor folks a bag of groceries. >-pump someone elses gas. >-lick your stamps yourself rather than sending to the secretary. >-compliment someone you don't know on their dress of the day. >-give someone the parking spot you saw first. >-run an errand for the secretary. >-phone a friend going through a hard time financially. >-take your old clothes to the homeless shelter. >-go on saturday and police the exits by the interstate, the one you use >everyday. >-say please when you ask for something. >-thank a cop. >-drive at least 2 carlinks behind the person in front of you, Don't tailgate! >-let someone else take the last chair. >-field strip your cigarettes if you smoke, in other words; pull the filter >from the paper, put the butt in your pocket, drop the paper and grind it >into the sidewalk or ground. It will totally disappear. >-let a person go before you in the checkout line at the grocery. >-send a thank you note to the local fire station, just for being there. >-give a dog a bone. >-carry an extra umbrella to let someone that forgot theirs use. >-buy donuts for the office. >-buy the office next door donuts >-do your roomates laundry. >-help an elderly person across the street, or stop traffic while they cross >on their own. >-direct traffic if someone in front of you has an accident. >-carry a firts aid kit, never know when you might do some big service, be >prepared. >-give the childrens shelter all your old books. >-tutor someone trying to get their GED. >- > >Please add to this list as you feel. I know all of you have more to offer >than I do. Use it with your corpsmembers on training day as a facilitated >session, let them create their own list. I kinda think we can train at >least "some stuff" pertaining to AmeriCorps right here on this list. Have >fun with it whatever you do! > >Thanks, >Charlie > > 79 Transporter "The Mothership" http://www.armory.com/~y21cvb/charlie/charlie.html