Community Service

One of the best experiences I have is when I get a chance to assist the community in times of emergency. To that end, I joined the ACT State Emergency Services (SES for short) 8 years ago and have been active with them ever since, in a variety of roles and ways. Our usual activities are repairing houses damaged in storms, cutting up fallen trees or getting trees of houses, sand bagging against floods, pumping out flooded houses, etc...
At the moment, our city is in the midst of its 4th big winter storm in as many weeks, with lots of rain and wind, even though we are apparently in a drought! Could have fooled me. This afternoon, we got a call to assist an elderly couple with flooding in their house. We attended the house and secured it as best we could with the limited material we had (long story for another day!) Anyway, it was tremendously satisfying to be able to assist these lovely old people in their time of need, and to be able to set up some form of protection for them whilst the storms rage.
Well, the job may have been a bit dodgy but I think they will be dry tonight.
So, perhaps there is value in community assistance and a spirit of sharing and helping people in our city, especially in times of difficulty. It isn't too hard and makes a world of difference to them. I always go to bed feeling happy when I work with the SES. It's a GOOD thing to do.
Sleep tight and dry, and have a GREAT day!
Lucky Phil