The second time I volunteered with PUC we didn't spend much time at Life Do Grow, the main garden. No one was there but me and two other Temple students, both of whom kept pretty much to themselves. One guy, whose name was also Nick, was a decent guy and seemed fairly disinterested in whatever he was doing. I didn't catch the girl's name but she seemed equally apathetic. But the most apathetic of all was the girl running the place that day. While everyone watered the same plants to look busy, she didn't even keep up appearances. I watered the beds whose irrigation systems were still faulty and the new plants in the greenhouse, and barely finished before she told us she was leaving. It was 1:30. Fortunately she offered to drive us to another garden on Carlisle, where apparently Alex, the main co-founder guy, was working. I anticipated much more fruitful experiences here, but enjoyed the reminder that in every community, there will always be some who don't pull their weight.
The other garden was a space owned by the church across the street, and when I got there it was just Alex and Devon, another co-founder and friendly handyman I had met at my first session. They were erecting a new greenhouse. That became the focus of my four hours. It was the kind of manual labor I'd been robbed of, so naturally I wasn't very good at it, but I was enthusiastic. Later some high school kids with some program came and they tossed the beds. The preacher, a short old man, sat and watched, or he would stand in the street handing flyers out to the cars that passed. He seemed to know everyone. Religion is another from of community.
I didn't spend too much time with the kids but they were friendly. I suppose if I were intently focused on making connections to the course I would have asked them about their school but I doubt they would have enjoyed that. Instead we talked about shoes. Lots of them had very nice shoes and some refused to step in the soil. Some refused to do work altogether, which I found surprising because they did not seem to come there by force. A white van with posters all over it circled the block, blasting old RnB with a guy on a megaphone talking about some lady campaigning for mayor. I thought about Osage Avenue. I'm a pessimist. But I did enjoy the sense of community here as well. It seemed like everywhere I followed PUC there was a stronger sense of it than anywhere I had been before. Was this what all of North Philly was like? I thought foolishly. When the rain came all the kids left in a huff, and so did the other Nick. I opted to stay and help put the roof we had built on the greenhouse, which was a difficult process with only four people.
Later a homeless guy tried to sell us adirondack chairs he had stolen from Temple's campus.
"I bought these both for 30 dollars, but you can have em for ten."
"You stole these from Temple." I said.
"Bargain. No. Bargain." he said.
"Homeless people don't buy chairs." Gentrification has its ups and downs.
After all the work I decided to chat with Alex, a guy I only knew by email and who was busy talking with potential business partners or holding up the other end of the roof for most of my time there. He was friendly and cool. He asked me if I had housing for next year, to which I replied I did. He told me about an initiative he was planning where Temple students could find affordable off-campus housing in planned areas while participating in the community and "getting to know who you live by", which he said would decrease violence. It seemed like a great plan, and would definitely ease the tensions that can come along with college students moving into North Philly. It wouldn't change the problem of the rising price of housing in the area, but I didn't say all that, because I'm not a dick.
As I walked back I met a guy who claimed to be named after the cross-street. He said he was the watchful protector of that block. "I love Temple students, man. I won't let nothin' happen to you here. Anybody give you trouble you just tell them you know me." I don't remember his name, but I wish I could offer him the same protection from Temple, a force I had begun to think was much more formidable than some angry North Philly kid.
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