To the editor:
On the islands off the coast of Maine, most lobstermen use winter to repair their traps and gear. It is the down time. Lobsters bury themselves under sand and stay relatively still, eating very little. Even in shallow water, a lobster is hard to see, and right now, as we begin the new year, there isn't a whole lot of demand for or attention paid to the crustacean we steam and savor in summer. I am curious if there are any lobsters in my neighborhood?
I wonder if there are a few crusty stubborn New Englanders along the streets that I travel, who are buried in their own sand of debt, despair, unemployment, custody battles, illness and depression.¬ Who among us is being still and eating very little? Like ice, who is unable to move?
The new year rose first over the islands of Maine and then bathed all of New England with a new day, but did the change of date reverse the lives of many of us who sang "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight?
While one may ask, "should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind? Most all of us know the answer is surely not. An '09' has become a '10,' yet little else has changed in our neighborhood, our community our state and nation. Little has changed in the world.
In the next few weeks, in the spirit of goodwill, more than 350 young men and women in New Hampshire's AmeriCorps program will be conducting a statewide Martin Luther King Food drive. Food collected between now and Jan. 15 will help replenish dwindling supplies at local food pantries throughout the state. There's more. Volunteer New Hampshire (VolNH) is teaming with nonprofit organizations and civic-minded organizations across the state to match volunteer opportunities with volunteers. By visiting www.volunteernh.org, you will find a matching system to link up with a volunteer opportunity in a town near you. You will also be directed to local drop-off points for the MLK food drive.
Volunteer NH operates under the direction of the governor and Executive Council. It is partially federally funded and is a nonprofit organization that administers volunteer programs such as AmeriCorps, New Hampshire Citizen Corps and NH VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Daisasters), to provide training, recognition and a central site for volunteer programs engaged in strengthening communities.
As certain as the summer, I believe there is much to be learned from the lobstermen. We have a new year, a new decade and a new opportunity to make a difference, to do repair where needed. We can offer the gift of time, the gift of self by digging deep into our own canisters of talent and finding ways to volunteer. Doing something for someone else is a step toward restoring confidence and self worth during times of unemployment and being buried in the sand.¬ Go out and look for lobsters, and carry with you "a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."
Lisa Brown
Volunteer New Hampshire
Concord, N.H.
