Ed Note: This Opinion piece is part of our new series, Underground Good, which focuses on providing a window into the mindsets of ordinary people doing good work in their community. It’s written by sociologist, coach, and evaluation consultant, Sharon Brisolara. You can find the rest of our Underground Good series here. Want to nominate someone you see doing good? You can do that here.
Sandi Thompson was among the first individuals to be recommended for the Underground Good series. The person who nominated her wrote, “She goes all over town painting up over graffiti and cleaning up trash from parks and streets. She embodies goodness.”
During our conversation, Sandi shares a little bit about her motivation, her approach to observing what needs to be done, and how she takes action. She also shares tips, tools, a song, and one of her core beliefs: that we can all engage in repairing our communities.
When you begin to think “they should do something”, she told me, it is time to recognize “we are they.”
Sandi, how would you like to introduce yourself to readers?
I’m a retired teacher. I started teaching in Sacramento in a high school, and I moved here in 1979 when my friend said, ‘You’ll love the community. It’s small.’ I taught at a very small school, Columbia Elementary. At the time it had 200 students. Later, I got a job at Sequoia and the teachers and the staff there were like family. We’re still very connected after my twenty years of retirement.
That’s where I began.
I’ve always been a doer. I have various related nicknames: BB in a Space Suit, Nervous Service, Speed Gal. I’m just a very active person, and I’ve never been one to say, ‘Well, why don’t they do this?’ I see it and if it has to be done, I do it. I’m not a complainer. If I can do it, I’m going to do it.
Where do you think that attitude comes from for you?
Helping people was just something that I grew up with as part of spending time with my grandmother.
I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my grandmother and my great aunts. They were very strong women. When, I would ask, “What can I do now?” They would say, “Well, you could mow the lawn or wash the cabinets” or whatever. I remember as a young kid, eight years old or something, being at a wedding and going around and picking up the plates off the table. I never argued. I just did it. I always found a way to utilize my time, and I’m still like that. I can get a lot done very quickly.
What brings you joy?
Accomplishing something and making people smile. It’s a goal of mine. Walking down the street, if I see somebody that’s kind of grumpy, I just want to make them smile. I just want to do good. I know I’m a goody two shoes, but it brings me joy to help others.
The person who nominated you mentioned that you go all over town painting over graffiti and cleaning up trash on parks and streets. Can you tell us, in your own words, how you do what you do?
I have quite a few people who will report things to me. Terry Lewilliar, Mike Crusoe, the Eagle Watchers — they will let me know if there is an issue. I walk the Blue Gravel Trail and people will tell me “Our neighborhood got hit”. Once, a friend of mine, a principal at a school, called me at six in the morning and said, “Hey, could you come over and help me? There’s some really nasty graffiti and I don’t want my kids to see it.” I actually had my jammies on at the time but I said, “Yes. I’m coming”.
The other day, I was going to a bank new to me and when I pulled up there was graffiti, and I said, “I’m going to go clean that up before I go into the bank” I have all this stuff in my car and so I scrubbed it and got it all cleaned. It’s just spontaneous.
I don’t want people from out of town to feel intimidated to go down our trails. Because if I went into an area with a lot of graffiti and I was from out of town, I would think ‘that shouldn’t be here.’ And I don’t want my neighborhood to look bad. I want people to have pride, and even if they don’t, I do.
What materials do you keep in your car?
I have all different color paints. I have a gray, which is kind of my go to. I have black because there are fences and other things that are black. I have the brown of the benches in the park on the trail and silver because somebody hit the corrugated tunnel on Blue Gravel Trail.
I want to make sure you can’t even tell the graffiti was there. I try to cover it as well as I can without making it stand out. If I can scrub it off, I will. I have something called Graffiti Remover or something like that, hand sanitizer, and an SOS pad work on most painted surfaces. You can do this yourself! If you see it, you can do it. I’ve gotten a lot of people turned on to that idea.
How did you get started doing this work?
I don’t remember exactly, but I really got into it a few years ago. People were complaining on Facebook that somebody had hit the Lady Lorenz. It looked awful. It was late, and I thought, come on, people, quit talking about it, go do something. So I jumped in my car. I had some red oxide paint, and I covered it all so that you couldn’t even see it.
My friend and I joke about people who say, “They ought to do something.” It could be about anything. Maybe there is a hanging branch. People will say, Look at that tree. They ought to trim that tree.” And I tell my friend, “We’re the they.”
That reminds me, I just got a new tool I am really excited about: a cordless reciprocating saw. It’s really cool. My very good friend Angie James, who is a mosaic artist, had a yard sale. The saw was marked $25, but she said she knew how I was going to use it and she gave it to me. So now I can go on a trail and cut tree limbs and the berry bushes that are snagging people.
How do you integrate picking up trash into what you do?
When I go for a walk, I take a bag and a picker. Yesterday, there was a big heavy pallet; I couldn’t lift it. So I took my reciprocating saw and cut it all into pieces. Then I called my friend who has a connection with the city, and they said they could pick it up. Sometimes, if I can’t pick it up by hand, I make arrangements to go pick it up later In my truck. I’ve probably done that for fifteen or twenty years.
Have you worked with people at the city or county?
There was one person who worked with the sanitation department who is retired now. I asked him, “If I cover that graffiti, am I creating more work for you?” And he said, “Absolutely not. When you cover it, it’s gone and then we come by with our power washer, and that takes everything off.”
I have refurbished the lights at the Sundial Bridge. I talked to Kim Nemer, and she put me in touch with Karen McBroom, who has subsequently retired. Karen brought some of the lights needing repair to my house and I redid every single one of them.
Another friend of mine saw my work, what I was doing with tiles, and bought me a cordless tile cutter and delivered it to my house. I can’t take credit for everything. People are really kind to me. They’re wonderful. Very supportive.
Since I pick up trash from the Blue Gravel Trail, I noticed the need for a trash can by the tunnel. The city couldn’t put one there because they can’t get their truck on that street to empty the trash. I said, “Give me the bags and I will empty it.” That’s what I do now. We came to a compromise. They appreciate me, and I appreciate them.
Recently, one of the things that’s been happening in downtown Redding is that we’ve had these large murals. What are your thoughts on murals and as it relates to beautification and graffiti?
I think it’s fabulous. It makes me think we could have a place where people could go and paint, something that would get repainted every month or so to give people a fresh start. There have to be rules: nothing obscene, for example. Do you know the wall with a mural of a lady with flowing hair next to Gene’s Drive-In? That used to get hit all the time. I would try to make her hair look okay, but it was an old mural. Now there is a newer one that says Choose Hope or something like that. It doesn’t get tagged anymore. I think that there is some kind of respect for it.
There’s also a drinking fountain on the trail near Dana Drive that people constantly graffiti and bathe in. I’ve covered and cleaned it. Then the city came in and painted the electrical box, drinking fountain, and garbage can. It has not been hit now for a month. I think that when there is graffiti, it encourages more graffiti.
“We could have a place where people could go and paint, something that would get repainted every month or so to give people a fresh start.”
Sandi Thompson
Are there any other solutions or prevention that you have thought about or think about?
I don’t have any solutions. Having a place where they could paint would probably help a small portion, but you would still have the people with angst, who are pouring out their hearts. They’ve been hurt. I get it. If it were me, I might write it on a piece of paper and leave it somewhere. That’s what I would do. But there’s no way to categorize a person who does graffiti, they don’t fit in a box. There’s a whole bunch of reasons people do it.
If people wanted to either support your efforts or to get involved themselves, what would you recommend?
Two things: first, support the Redding Parks and Trails Foundation. They actually have an account for me called the Graffiti Removal Program. They gave me money towards a battery-operated tricycle that I use to carry paint; there are a lot of places you can’t reach by vehicle.
They have an account for me at Cascade Paint, and they give me supplies at their cost. Casey Crandall, who owns Cascade Paint, was a student of mine at Columbia. He also gives me helpful tips and hints. For example, somebody painted the rocks over by the Ribbon Bridge and it just looked awful. Casey showed me what I could do to make it look more natural and it looks pretty good. When the weather took our paint off, he went down and repainted it himself. I can’t say enough good things about Casey. He is the best. Very supportive.
I’ve also been given a gift card to Ace Hardware where I buy spray paint in different colors.
What about if people were interested in doing something similar to what you do, where could they begin?
When it comes to picking up trash, there are various pickers on the market. I got mine through Amazon, and it’s an Ettore Grip N’ Grab and it has lasted me for years.
I also go to Holiday and buy ten of their plastic bags for ten cents apiece or something. I’ll reuse that bag several times. If you’re walking the neighborhood, it doesn’t take a very big bag. I know a lot of people who do that. I’m not unique.
I very much appreciate the details you have shared with us. Is there anything else that you want to make sure to say before we end?
I appreciate the community for supporting me. When I walk, go to yard sales, or am just out, they’ll say, “You’re that lady! I see you all the time.” I appreciate that.
I’ll tell you somebody who gives a lot as well: Judy Salter. She does so much for this community. Doni Chamberlain. And Linda Masterson, the lady who started the Redding Parks and Trails Foundation. They have done a lot and continue to do a lot for this community.
Before we go, I have to sing you a song. This is the result of boredom, being out in the streets, working. While I was doing that, a song started going through my head. I sing it to the tune of I’m A little teapot.
I’m the friendly picker on your street
making sure they’re always neat
If you’re grateful for the things I do
honk your horn and say thank you.
Do you have a question or comment about this story? Reach out: editor@shastascout.org
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