park residents.

just before i left blacksburg for a glamorous week of spring-breaking in the river city, i checked my email to find my out-of-class assignment for the week: do something socially responsible.

the instructions really weren't much more complicated than that, with a few margin and font constraints and an enthusiastic have fun with this!

i began to think about it as i drove down main street, windows down and music at a justifiable windows-down level. three hours later my mood was slightly dampened and the only socially responsible thing on my mind was to speed down the median, laughing loudly at the other cars as i sat in stopped traffic barely 20 miles from blacksburg.

regardless, i did make it home eventually, and filled my weekend with a collage of cafediemtexasbeachmomlunchesoregonhillstickyrice and other things that teased me of a richmond summer. on my way through the city sunday i passed by monroe park... and found my cause.

i spent monday afternoon assembling a totebag worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and set off for my selfless act of social responsibility. i ended up on a bench in the middle of monroe park with my bag of sandwiches, my friend and his dog, and a poster that read "Free PBJ's! Just ask me!". it took a few minutes for the park residents' hunger to overcome their skepticism, and my first two patrons walked up. confused, i explained to them that i made some sandwiches. "do ya'll want one?" they smiled. and accepted. and reminded me that if there were any leftover, they'd be there a while.

within an hour i had handed out all of my sandwiches. one man came back for four, but i never refused him. i left monroe park, a place notoriously thought of as dangerous, with an empty totebag and a huge smile on my face. somehow my act of social responsibility ended up ironically personal.


<3.