My Friend Robert: An Earnest, Productive Member of His Community

[Note: One thing I hope happens if I keep up with this blog is that, as a result of my being a somewhat eclectic person, I'll end up with a little something for everybody. And, by extension, I'll get people to read about stuff they wouldn't normally be interested in. In that spirit, this post is the beginning of a new series designed with the intention of expanding the appeal of my blog to my friend Robert's mother (Hi Kathy!), who apparently read the blog and didn't find my posts about musical theatre, hip hop, and video games interesting.]

My friend Robert Hammer works full time as a high school teacher at Citadel High, the fanciest public school in town. Now, if I had to spend 40 hours a week dealing with high school students, probably the only thing I would want to do when I got home is huff paint and watch slasher movies. But not my friend Robert! In whatever spare time he has, Robert volunteers for the NDP, knocking on doors when there's an election, attending meetings and colloquiums when there isn't, and presumably also doing some sort of third thing under some sort of third condition for the purpose of completing this list.

He doesn't do it for the money (because he isn't paid!). He doesn't do it for the glory (because their isn't any glory involved in provincial politics). He doesn't do it for the thrill of victory (because the candidate he worked tirelessly for in the last election was the only NDP incumbent to lose). No, he does it because he believes it's the right thing to do. Because he believes in giving something back to his community. Because he wants, in whatever small way he can, to make the world a better place.

I admire him a lot for that; although, of course, I'd never tell him, because it might seem like I was coming on to him. As annoying as it may be to call your best friend and say "Hey, it's Saturday night, let's drink some beers!" and hear "I can't, it's a by-election weekend!" (seriously, folks, true story), and as annoying as it may be to have to be dragged from the comfort of your apartment SEVERAL TIMES to go knock on doors in Dartmouth and try to convince old ladies that Darrell Dexter doesn't actually plan to sell Nova Scotians into slavery building monuments to the NSGEU, the fact remains that spending your spare time working for the betterment of your community is a truly noble undertaking.

Applaud this man, folks!