Today was a traditional celebration we have each year in my hometown, called Autumn in Moorestown. Main Street is closed to all traffic and tons of street vendors - artists, craftspeople, and others set up booths in the street and display their wares for sale. There's music, food, and even scarecrow-making. The weather was perfect and there were thousands of people packing the street. Seeing how much work goes into the setup and anticipating how much goes into the breaking down, I had an idea about how I could help.
When the event was closing down, around 4:00, I headed back up to Main Street to see who might need help. I approached a couple of different vendors but they said they were "fine." Then I saw some people folding up chairs and tables. I jumped in and spent the next 40 minutes or so folding up more than 100 chairs and helping to load them into a truck, and then did the same for a bunch of long tables. When that job was completed, I saw a couple trying to fold up there tent and get it stuffed back into its bag. I lent a hand and we got it done. Then I quietly headed home.
It was interesting to note how many people walked by without offering to help. I'm sure they assumed, as would I, that "someone" was taking care of all the cleanup. In reality, it was a lot of volunteers. Prior to this year, it wouldn't have even occurred to me to go back, unsolicited, to help out. Now I notice these opportunities much more readily. 
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