YACK on: Help
Grant Sanders
We are fortunate to live on Nantucket. Not just because of the ocean all around us. Or the ample and overflowing trough of money at which many of us feed. Or the amazing beauty of this place. Or the free theatrical entertainment in the form of government board and committee meetings. No, we are lucky to be here because of, well, us. The people. The community. This is a place where people pitch in and help out when they are asked. And sometimes when they are not asked. We are an island of helpers, volunteers, and good Samaritans.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the YACKon.com discussion forums. People post questions all the time and receive dozens of helpful replies. We've shared recipes. We've found house-sitters. We've organized searches for lost dogs. We've gotten free advice on circumventing local ordinances. And more.

Just this week, I was having difficulty starting my lawn mower and I posted a question in the "Off-Topic" folder asking if anyone knew how I could fix it. The problem: it would start and then stall a second later. I got lots and lot of helpful advice:

"Add some dry gas."

"Take the mower out in a boat and throw it overboard. If it sinks, it's no good and you'll need a new one."

"Add Sea Foam Motor Treatment." "Buy a Toro."

"Replace the air filter."

"Drain and fill the tank with fresh gas and keep on trying, the fresh gas may very well dissolve the gunk in your carburetor and all will be OK."

"Spray small squirts of starting fluid into the air intake repeatedly."

"Rebuild the carburetor." "Get a reel-type push mower."

"Buy a few sheep."

"Ask Mike Glowacki, former Selectman and owner of Outdoor Power Equipment to fix it. You know, the guy you've been publicly and viciously criticizing in the paper and on YACK for over three years."

The best advice I got, however was from YACKer, Captain Blair Perkins, who called me up and said, "I'm working on my mowers right now. Bring yours over and I'll get it running."

I unloaded the huge pile of junk out of the back of my squeaky SUV and put the mower in and drove over to Blair's house. And run, it now does. In fact the semi-grassy patches of foliage around my house have never looked better. Just in time for the day after Mother's Day. Thanks, Blair!

Another area where we've seen an increase in community assistance is on the Clean Team. And hopefully this trend will continue. We can always use more clean-minded, able-bodied people to help keep the island looking nice. For those of you who are not familiar with the Clean Team, it's a loosely formed group of locals and summer people who know how to stoop. We pick up cans and bottles and other items in a designated area each week. We do not get paid. Although we do accept donations to pay for things like clear trash bags, blue butylrubber gloves, sticks with nails in the end and the brightly colored T-shirts we will be passing out in two weeks to keep members from being sideswiped while bending over to pick up a empty bottle of Jägermeister.

In the past two seasons, we've picked up and removed a mountain of refuse. I've found a number of interesting items in addition to the omnipresent Bud Light cans (The official beer of litterbugs). The more memorable items include: A used hypodermic needle, a half-full can of gunpowder, a $20 bill - it's funny what those 'Sconset summer people consider to be trash - and an alarming number of pairs of skimpy ladies' underpants.

To those of you reading this who may have thrown a thing or two out of a moving car or truck window, I ask the following of you:

1. Please collect your trash in a bag within your vehicle and dispose of it properly. Especially the beer cans and teeny tiny liquor bottles. And remember, being drunk and stupid is not illegal, but being drunk and stupid and behind the wheel is. 2. Ladies, please try to keep your pants on. I'm quite happily married. 3. The $20 bills are greatly appreciated. Keep them coming.

It's great to live in a community that pitches in like Nantucket does. In fact, I would say that without this island's volunteers, and the organizations and non-profits who depend upon them, the economy here would likely collapse under the weight of a massive social services bill.

Or under a giant pile of Bud Light cans.

YACK on. I

Grant Sanders is the host of YACK, The Nantucket Online Community at www.yackon.com and he helps out on the Clean Team nearly every Saturday at 8am. Email him at grant@yackon. com to get on the Clean Team mailing list. His views are his alone and do not reflect the editorial stance of The Nantucket Independent. Or his wife.