When I got to the kitchen today, Joey was hard at work skinning raw chicken. I wanted to grab an apron and get started, but I had to stand there at least 5 minutes while he gave me the latest on school. He is so excited about school! His testing showed enough reading deficit to merit him a spot in the smaller class—where he will get more one-on-one help. We're both excited about that. Help is good! So the testing and form filling out is finished. Tomorrow he actually goes for his first real class. He says he can't believe he's actually going to school, and he can't wait to get there!
I was four hours in the kitchen today! Anna came in about 30 minutes before I left, and took over. What a relief! She took the pbj duty today, and plenty of others, I'm sure. I was late leaving because I finally asked Joey what was he going to do with those turning-black cabbages in the big refrigerator? They'd been in there for weeks. I volunteered to cook them. "Are you going to cook the leaves?" he asked.
"It's all leaves, Joey," I said. "Watch." I stepped over to the meat sink. "Here. We'll have cabbage 101 class." Joey loves words; he loves learning, and he watched intently as I peeled away the first, second, 10th leaves of the cabbage. Then I cut one in half and he noted that it was, indeed, all leaves. We had a full discussion, later, about ignorance (I was claiming some), and he thought it was a demeaning thing. But now he knows… it's just "not knowing," and all of us are ignorant on many levels. I love the way he soaks up every little thing.
Cabbage. I'll bet you have no clue how much yield comes from 10 cabbages—how big their cooking pots are, how much butter, celery seed, salt and pepper are needed for them. Neither did I. Ignorant.
I burned a few leaves in the first pot. Salvaging 5 pounds of cooked cabbage from 4 little burned leaves is no fun, but we did it. And that was just the first batch. The second batch went much more smoothly.
There was need of 54 sandwiches (27 sack lunches). Preparing those has become labor. I no longer linger over each sandwich, each snack, each cookie and drink, to ask myself how I would feel if given this lunch. I did make a mental note today that if I were given one, I'd want the one with the Moon Pie and Big Orange drink…
I'm feeling much more at ease with our people. Today, after all the pre-lease guys had taken a lunch and sat down, then I took the clipboard, went out into the lunchroom, asked them their names, and checked them off. I felt as if I were walking among friends. I've no idea what crimes they've committed, and I don't care. They are here because they have earned the right to be here, and that's enough. Slick abides. I asked him if he would mind washing out the nasty cabbage container, and after lunch he cleaned it well, happy to do so. He's no idea that it gives me pleasure to know him, and to be able to ask him such a thing. I called him "Hairy." Everybody chuckled. It's not so quiet in there anymore.
I made a big pan of fruit salad again today. And GUESS WHAT??? I opened TWO huge cans by myself! Joey was astonished! Me too! I was cussing that @#% can opener and WHAM, it opened my can. Joey said I should talk to it like that again, so it would open the second can. He's so fun.
The little boy came for lunch again today. He took a plate with a hotdog, baked beans and salad. He was so happy to get a hotdog! Cute little guy… why do children have to live in homeless shelters? Shouldn't we have a law about that, or something?
One of the homeless was a tall, middle-aged man who'd come several hundred miles on a girl-friend mission and found himself without a place to stay. I'm thinking his memoir has most probably already been done. It was sad how beholden he seemed to feel. Joey let him wash some pots and clean up the dining room but, clearly, the man felt a strong need to pay his way. No, he didn't tell me his story; he told it to Joey, but I was making sandwiches within earshot.
Well… lunch has been served—again. Again it was a blessing to serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment