Newton resident David Porat wants to set an example for his community.Shrugging off heat waves,insect bites,and parking tickets,the 84-year-old retired electrical engineer and consultant spends his days scraping,cleaning,and repainting some of the city's many fire hydrants（消防栓）.
The inspiration came on a visit to Medford,when he was struck by the difference between the hydrants there and those in Newton. "It's an old town but all the hydrants on the highway look good,painted nicely,taken care of," he said.“And you come to Newton and you don't see that.You see a lot of them are neglected."
Porat reached out to the Newton Parks,Recreation,and Culture Department to obtain permission and get his materials.Then,he began the hard work of restoring each hydrant.
“It's a three-step process,"he said."First scraping most of the paint by hand with scrapers and sandpaper,things like that.Then I free-paint them with a cleaner and paint."
By his own estimate,he has repainted over 520 of Newton's more than 2,500 fire hydrants,many of which had not been painted or cleaned for years.
Porat retired two years ago,but he said he still does occasional consulting."Some people hate work,you know,some people can dread Mondays," Porat said.“I couldn't wait for Monday.”
This past winter,Porat said,he paused because paint cannot set at lower temperatures. But with warm1 weather here and a fresh supply of paint from the city government,he has started up again and plans to continue for the foreseeable（可预见的）future.
Porat said something that often strikes him while painting is the different reactions he gets from passersby in different neighborhoods."Some sections when you come there and they see you doing it,they come to talk to you,"he said."They come bring me bottled water. They offer me a bench to sit on.On the oter hand if you go to a public place like Newton Centre,you're invisible."
Porat said he does the work to give back to the community ad set a good example. “That's why I want to volunteer, and I want to show other people that youI can help if you care and you think about it，＂he said.“It＇s not a chore（乏味无聊的工作）for me.”
How did people react when Porat painted the hydrants in Newton Centre?