Author: Connie Moser

I have cornered the market with the gift of gab. When people ask me what I do, my response varies among several descriptions, such as, “volunteer, professional volunteer, and community activist.”

Closer to the truth may be that I simply talk!

When Potomac Local ran this story about the Dale City K Mart closing, it generated a bittersweet moment for me.

For as long as I can remember, I have complained about the entrance to Dale City. I’ve always wanted our community to look beautiful and inviting. I’ve long hoped it would become a place to drive to, not through.

Around the beginning of August I broke the news my husband and I were going to be leaving Prince William County. I was so devastated by the changes coming to our lives that I wrote a column, comparing the relocation to the five stages of loss and grief. We typically think of those stages as
part of dying, but they are applicable to any major event in life that causes upheaval and loss.

Here’s an opportunity to put a number on your stress. This is science based on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale and by answering this questionnaire can accurately predict your risk of serious illness resulting from stress.

I need a break from the Moser Farewell Tour this week! Let’s talk about something that caught my attention this week and see what you think.

Do you know your neighbors? How old are the children across the street? What are the names of the couple two doors down? Who on your block has your house key? If you became ill, how long before one of your neighbors noticed?

For about 26 years I could tell you all that and more. I wish I could tell you about all the wonderful people who have been part of my community, but there are just too many of them. My neighbors on the right and left of me have been here since these homes were built in 1976.

I haven’t left the area and I think you already miss me! You may not know you miss me unless you ride down Lindendale Road and notice the grass is tall, the sidewalks aren’t edged, there’s litter and leaves in the gutter on the wooded block adjacent to Dale City Christian Church. We’ve been maintaining that block (and occasionally another wooded lot across the street) since 2006. We have a sign there for an Adopt a Spot for the Lindendale Community, but typically an Adopt a Spot is just a litter pick up, not the kind of community maintenance we do.

There’s a perennial flower bed there. We planted it with Shasta Daisies, Coreopsis and Purple Coneflower. The deer ate all the coneflower, but the Daisies, the Coreopsis and a Datura Lily lend some bright color to the landscape all summer long. The flowers are ready to be cut down and mulched soon and the bed is in need of some weeding.

Quick: Name as many types of saws as you can in two minutes! Let me help you.

There are coping saws, hack saws and backsaws, drywall saws and fret saws. There are also crosscut saws and rip saws. Motorized saws include miter saws, sliding compound miters saws, table saws, jig saws, rotary saws, circular saws, trim saws, and band saws.

I once read a book by Seth Godin, titled “Linchpin-Are you Indispensable?” It was an interesting book that expounded on the idea of making oneself indispensable in the workplace and therefor, invaluable to the company. I think Godin was intent on teaching us self-worth and creating our own space in the world, but I thought that concept “indispensable” was not a great idea. After all, how do you take vacations if you’re indispensable? What if you move? What happens when you die?

I’ve belonged to many great groups and organizations and I always try to get folks to plan ahead, get young, quick minds involved and folks who can physically meet the challenges of our obligations. It’s important that we mentor and encourage the next generation to become involved in their community.

I wound up my column last week by asking, “Who is going to step up to the plate?” I was talking about community maintenance; the art of tending neglected spaces. Let me share a few of the tools that volunteers find beneficial.

Often, the first step in community maintenance is simply determining who owns the property. Prince William County provides the County Mapper connecting you to lots of other data, too, like tax information, zoning, overlay districts and much more.