I’ve been catching some interesting videos online lately, and for me that is something. I don’t even like to sit for a movie, but these little videos are short.

They are the ones where people are mowing and cleaning up lawns for abandoned properties and people who are not able to take care of property themselves. And they are doing it without being paid

It brightens my day.

Those simple little videos of lawn mowers and weed eaters speeding through a yard, picking up limbs, trimming bushes, and trimming the curbs reminds me that there are some people who are trying to make a difference in their little part of the world.

If you haven’t seen them, there is a family of boys with their father called Blessing Boys, and another is SB Mowing. They are kind and courteous and seem to take great pride in their work.

They seem real.

There are many people in the world who want to make a positive difference, but don’t know how to get started. And what I have seen in these videos is a great way to start.

We live in a world where too many are waiting for someone else to do something. And the best way to get the world straightened out is by doing things here at home.

Like the Blessing Boys.

By helping a neighbor clean up their yard. By helping a business by purchasing something from them, even if it might be a tad bit cheaper somewhere else.

By offering to help, by running for office, by voting, by taking a load of garbage to the dump for a friend.

As I drove around town today, I saw limbs broken out of trees, trash trapped in bushes, and houses that could stand a coat of paint. I saw lawns that were beautifully manicured, others that needed a good mowing, some just nice and cheery. I noticed when someone had just mowed their lawn, and others had waited a bit too long.

But then I drove by the cemetery, and I saw something different. I saw third and fourth grade children helping locate flag post holes, and men and women pulling flag poles around on a trailer, installing the flags for Memorial Day.

And it was cold and windy and damp from the rains.

Everyone was smiling, running to catch up with the next task. Men and women working together to create a beautiful image in the cemetery for the coming weekend.

It gives me hope.

There are so many things that are waiting to be done in our community, whether it is fixing up a home or building, painting a wall, or mowing a lawn, and I wonder if the people who live there would accept help.

Like from the Blessing Boys.

If Webster City could organize a group of people, men and women, young and old, who could go around Webster City and offer assistance to help a home look a little better, without expecting payment, what could our city become?

It could be beautiful.

We have so many things that are beautiful about this city. There isn’t a perfect community anywhere, and if one is close to perfect, it is because they have people that are pitching in and helping.

It can start in a neighborhood. It can spread down a street. It can change the way the entire neighborhood feels about themselves.

There could be block parties where we learn everyone’s name. Learn their stories, and see where we can help.

Webster City is not just the name of a town. It is a place where people live. And it’s a place where people work, and a place where people can help each other.

We all need to do a little bit more, even if it’s just picking up some trash. Today, that might be all it takes to make a difference to someone.

It might be all it takes to show that we care, not only about ourselves, but about where we live.

That means more than the money we earn, or give or share.

It sets an example for others, our neighbors, our children, our parents, our businesses, our leaders.

Take a minute, look around. Let’s not just talk about it.

Let’s do something.

Kolleen Taylor is the Community Editor of the Daily Freeman Journal