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The Wood Fairies
I am so tired. I've been assigned to peel logs for the week with two women from the Maine Conservation Corps way out in the middle of the Allagash (translation: nowhere) in northern Maine, while the rest of the two teams work farther south in Baxter State Park. There aren't any roads, so our sponsor, whom we fondly call John the Redneck, has to take us by boat to and from our little cabin and the worksite. We are helping him build log cabins that will house the MCC members when they come up to work on an historic railroad site later on this summer We use big, unwieldy, spoon-shaped tools to slide under the bark and peel it off One of my teammates, Jennifer, is using a chain saw to cut off the ends and even out the logs.
Our schedule goes like this: We rise with the sun, peel logs all day long, come back to the cabin at dark, jump in the lake (our version of a shower), make/eat/clean up dinner, and then fall into bed to do it all again the next day. The women on this team are incredibly tough and strong. I am determined not to fall behind. When I wake up in the morning, my hands are stiff from pulling so hard with the log peelers the day before, but I don't say anything.
We don't have access to a shower, and we are not allowed to wash our hair in the lake because the shampoo will contaminate the water. My hair is back in braids and I am afraid to take them down—it's good for hair not to be washed for a couple of days, isn't it?
And the bugs! I cannot even explain what it is like to have millions and millions of buzzing, biting creatures making every attempt to eat you alive every single second. I have never been subjected to so many mosquitoes, horseflies, and other tiny, flying, biting things invading unmentionable places!
This morning, as we were walking up to the mountainous pile of logs, I couldn't help but blurt out, "Oh, the wood fairies didn't come and peel our logs for us in the middle of the night—too bad!" Dianna smiled at me and said, "Didn't you know? We are the wood fairies."
So we are, braided-up hair and all. We set to work, and John the Redneck brings out a little transistor radio/tape player (no radio reception this far out) and puts in Pearl Jam. Soon we are all singing along as we peel away piece after piece of bark. Time is measured by logs peeled, so when log four is done, we break for lunch. It's a sunny day, and we go for a quick dip in the lake to cool off before heading back to the worksite. Locusts buzz, clouds pass overhead, and my teammates and I talk about everything under the sun until the sky darkens and log eight is rolled into place. We are finished for the day. We step back, stretch our muscles, and look with satisfaction on another day's work well done.
It is this exact moment that makes AmeriCorps great for me—the knowledge that my efforts and energy have gone directly to something that furthers a positive goal. I love these quintessential moments, feeling a good sort of tired and connected to my teammates from our continuous work and conversation throughout the day. Although we come from all over the country and have different backgrounds, we see in each other's eyes a common value of wanting to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We know—almost on an instinctive level—that the stories we share with each other about our lives contribute as much as our physical work to making our world a better place. We are AmeriCorps members, and we are proud to be a part of it. |
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