Just a Happy Volunteer

Hey it’s been a busy couple of weeks and I apologize to my vast contingent of readers who have been waiting for every word.

The job hunt is slow but picking up, Pat wasn’t feeling well and I have been involved in a couple of charity efforts.

What is it with volunteers? If you are passionate do you obtain license to be inconsiderate or generally insane? I think not.

I am working on a land conservation effort and have volunteered to operate the get out the vote database. Therefore I am a worker in this vast enterprise but not on the executive council. But I get the pleasure of attending all the meetings.

The meetings have featured
· Individuals tape recording themselves so the couldn’t be sued
· An insistence that you couldn’t discuss anything you couldn’t swear to in court – this includes refuting arguments from “the other side” by citing information from newspapers, etc.
· A refusal to accept money from a political party at this time because we are non-partisan but a willingness to book the money post referendum
· Folks who won’t collect phone numbers from supporters because it’s an invasion of privacy but agree that its important to call people before the referendum to remind them to vote
· Folks who are biologically compelled to respond to any and all comments. Even if it is to say “I agree”.

My corporate nature comes out in these meetings. I want to organize and assign tasks. But this would just get me on someone else’s blog list.

Folks are amazed that I can create and manipulate a database of 7000 voters. I have had one offer of marriage from a local politically active woman (she has to dump her husband first) who is amazed how quickly a properly constructed database can turn information around. I tell my former work friends about this and we laugh at how small the database is. Personally I am using this to keep my MS Access and Excel skills from atrophy.

Our job is made much easier by the opposition. They leader of the opposition is a land engineer who has worked on lots of the land developments in town. Their petitioning tactics included telling people that if the state controls the land (the conservation easement) they will bus people in to use the property. They also tell people that if the sale goes through there will be cuts to the school budget. They are running a campaign of fear and misstatements.