Hanging in the Hood

I like my neighborhood, though I admit that usually I just sleep there. I have these two women who live by me who are passionate animal owners and animal activists; to sum, we are all three officially crazy cat ladies. We all like to garden, and we all admit we don't spend enough time gardening, playing with out pets or socializing with each other.
Enter newest neighbor; a dynamo of activity and a powerhouse of positivity. She is so delighted to own her own home, and is constantly working on it. So she came up with an idea, and approached all of us with it..."We all have a million projects we'd like to do, and alone, it's pretty daunting trying to accomplish even a fraction of them. What if we designate one weekend a month, and all of us work together on one woman's project?" DUUUUH! Why didn't we think of that before?
I promised as soon as school's didactic ended, I was in. This weekend, I went in to visit my dad (Mom went to Atlantic City to gamble away the inheritance, so I promised to visit and keep him company) and jog around Castle Island. I came home and glanced over to my neighbor kitty-corner to me- there were The Gals, painting away on the picket fence. "Tom Sawyer!" I hollered. "Aaaargh! I hate that analogy- it sounds like I'm manipulating them!" she grimaced. Not to me- I think all Tom's friend's happily forked over things to be part of the action- where the fun was taking place. The side yard had been weeded and mown, and Jackie the corgi was racing about in happiness. Being a corner property, there is a LOT of picket. I raced in for a change of grubby clothes and grabbed a brush.
They had missed contacting me as I ran about doing errands, and had started at 8 am with the yard work. The Designated Male Person (her beau) had been scraping the chipped paint on the fence and porch, Dynamo woman cleared the yard and everyone else filled in. I got there about 5 ish and painted til about 7:40, then we started again at 10 next morning. Some guy walking by said "you remind me of Tom Sawyer!" and after he left the Beau laughed and said "If he only knew you're the neighbor and the owner is inside right now..."
It ended up that the fence was not finished- we quit after 2pm Sunday as we all had dump runs and errands. But the whole point is, this was a huge task that she couldn't begin on her own- but knowing that helping hands were available, we all made such a dent that the rest will be do-able. And I know if I see her out there, I'll be grabbing the brush again.
I don't get to hang around and talk much. But if I can accomplish something that not only benefits a friend, but also makes the neighborhood and town a more beautiful place. How can you not like that?