A tall woman stood on the bench of a picnic table addressing a gathering of perhaps 70 people. Sunlight filtered through gray clouds and tiny new oak leaves, warming the muggy air. I was not uncomfortable in my t-shirt and flannel, but I wished I had my sunglasses for the shade they might have provided.
We were attending the annual opening meeting of our community garden, an event I have come to dread for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. Personally, I appreciate an informal structure, so it wasn't the loose circle that the assembled gardeners formed that bothered me.
Committee chairs stood where they were to deliver their reports, which worked for me, attentively standing near the center of the group, but not for those who chose to sit on the outer picnic benches. They shouted, "Can't hear you!" at every speaker, forcing them to repeat their remarks in strained voices.
There was also the standard litany of don'ts, although this year, the rules were definitely phrased more positively, and I liked hearing what I should do, rather than what I shouldn't. Finally, the meeting devolved to gripes and snipes-- members wondering why everyone else couldn't do things their way and others explaining that their way was actually much better.
It was at that point that the head gardener recalled the assembly to order. "And now it's time for everyone's favorite part of this day!" she said. "We get to work together to get the garden ready for a new season!"
We were attending the annual opening meeting of our community garden, an event I have come to dread for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. Personally, I appreciate an informal structure, so it wasn't the loose circle that the assembled gardeners formed that bothered me.
Committee chairs stood where they were to deliver their reports, which worked for me, attentively standing near the center of the group, but not for those who chose to sit on the outer picnic benches. They shouted, "Can't hear you!" at every speaker, forcing them to repeat their remarks in strained voices.
There was also the standard litany of don'ts, although this year, the rules were definitely phrased more positively, and I liked hearing what I should do, rather than what I shouldn't. Finally, the meeting devolved to gripes and snipes-- members wondering why everyone else couldn't do things their way and others explaining that their way was actually much better.
It was at that point that the head gardener recalled the assembly to order. "And now it's time for everyone's favorite part of this day!" she said. "We get to work together to get the garden ready for a new season!"
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