"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
Just out of curiosity, I'd be interested in finding out why people stay
in or leave an orchid society. On one hand, the once-a-month
comaraderie is nice and some of the guest speakers are interesting, but
on the other hand, doing jobs for a society can be very time consuming,
expensive, and frustrating. Thoughts?


Thoughts? How about a rant? LOL!!!

I left my orchid society because - in the final analysis - I couldn't keep
my mouth shut. I guess I'm an enabler at heart. If something needed doing,
I went ahead and did it. It was fun for the first 8 years, and then I
noticed that it really was true. That the same 5 people in the society of
100 did *everything*. NONE of the membership helped out. We even tried
saving a last raffle table plant to raffle to people who stayed to help
clean up, however everyone sat on their cans waiting for the last plant and
*watching* the same 5 people clean up....so that was a dreadful waste.

So I dropped out.

Everyone in the area was floored. But the society is still toddling along,
with the same 4 people doing all the work. They ask me if I'm ever coming
back...do I hate them... will they never see me again?? But the answer is
no, I won't come back. If I do I'll jump to their aide like I did last
time... so no. No more societies for me because I'll volunteer to help and
there goes my family, my plants and my job.

People may say I'm overstating this, but I'm not. Its true. I'd go from my
day job (8 hours) and then to the computer where I'd work on the
OrchidSafari stuff (which I've also curtailed my acttivity) for 3-4 hours
4-6 days a week... Plus post here at lunch time, or while I'm drinking my
morning coffee.

All that has stopped, except me posting here in the AM and my lunch hour.
The boyfriend now knows what my face looks like instead of the back of my
head from looking at a computer. We are getting along much better. I just
finished re-potting about 66% of my collection and tossing plants that were
crap. There is now air space between plants on the benches and I hope the
mealies, and scale will diminish. Everything's putting out plump new
growths, and I even had time to fertilize the plants yesterday. Now if I
had time to make my house and yard not look quite so trailer park, I'd be
happier still. I have allowed yellow-jackets to nest in the eaves too long,
and fear they may have crawled inside the walls.

So.

Taking your eye off the ball can be detrimental to your, what? Life? Is
that overstated? Perhaps. But keeping one's priorities straight has been a
lesson 10 years in the learning, and I believe I've finally learned it.

Just say no,

K Barrett