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June 10, 2007
During my run this morning I saw a group of men scraping and painting over some ugly graffiti that really spoils the hike and bike trail where I jog daily. As I got closer I noticed that they were doing this because they had been sentenced to community service by the court. As I passed the workers I slowed down and thanked them for cleaning up the graffiti. I told them I really appreciated what they were doing. The men seemed totally surprised. They looked up from their work and didn’t quite know how to react.
After a pregnant pause they spontaneously responded with “you’re welcome” and “no problem buddy” and “sure thing”. The transformation from hang-dog-shame to community-pride was pretty cool to see.
At the end of my run I saw the supervisor who had been watching over the crew on the bridge. He was with another group in a truck. He leaned out of the window and called me over.
“That’s the most positive thing they’ve heard since they’ve been in the system,” he said. “You made their day.”
“Actually.” I said. “They made my day.”
Posted by trevor at June 10, 2007 04:37 PM