*** JULY 4 ***

       Oh boy were we busy today! We have new employees guarding the locked door and keeping folks organized. I already miss the fellow they've replaced.

       So I gave Joey his Sunday hug and opened the refrigerator to make a sack count. We always need 45 sack lunches, and I always make up the difference between the 45 we need and the amount in the fridge. Generally, there are at least a dozen in there. Today, one lone bag sat in the back corner. It was screaming at me, "We need 44 more, or 88 sandwiches, Woman!"

       Dang.

       There was nothing to do but get started.

       Joey was making biscuits with sausage gravy! He was planning to serve applesauce with them.

       I had to ask, "Where's the protein?"

       "Eggs!" he offered. "Thanks, Miss Joy!"

       And without missing a beat he scrambled up several dozen eggs. I got to finish cooking the last pan and serve many plates. There were requests for seconds. I think everyone ate their fill.

       There was laughter in the dining room today! Big, bellowing laughter. And somebody accused Joey of "jammin'."

       "That's Miss Joy," he told them. "She's teaching me to jam."

       Right.

       Our second lunch crowd got tuna salad, crackers, and applesauce. Again there was laughter, but not so much. There was a new woman in the bunch. She's lonely; she's so lonely.

       Slick was in and out of the area often today. He mopped the dining room and did many chores. He's so cheerful, he's not yet 30, he's thoughtful, and I can't wrap my mind around his having been in prison. I hope he never goes back. He's too good for prison.

       Joey got a C on his first vocabulary test, and a B on the second! He's pumped. "I'm shooting for an A on the next one!"

       He's working it out—how to study—how to learn. He figured out that looking up definitions on the internet was interfering with his learning. He's writing his own definitions now, because those on the internet "have too many big words."

       Next week his vocab list includes family members: mother, father, brother, niece, nephew... We worked on nephew. "How do you spell nephew?" I asked—many times.

       The "ne" came quickly. The next letter was always just out of reach. "Like 'phone'," I prompted. His eyes opened wide... out came a ph.

       Then he searched for the "ew" sound. "Like 'few'," I suggested.

       Too far to reach.

       After 3 hours, I realized that he needed to SEE this word. I got a pen and paper towel and wrote it down. Then I wrote it again, separating the ne, the ph, and the ew.

       We talked about other words that end in ew. I wrote down "few" and "drew." Joey took it from there and those "ew" words just poured out of him—words I could not personally think of at the moment!

       Speaking of vocabulary, he has a really good one. He asked for a definition of nephew, and I suggested "the male offspring of one's brother or sister."

       "Offspring," Joey said. "That's a compound word!"

       You see? He's just a mystery—and I'd love for that kid to get some heavy-duty tutoring.

       Well... it is what it is, and we do what we do.

       I did suggest to Joey that he think about how he speaks his words, because how we learn them at home is not always helpful when we want to spell them. He literally soaks up everything I put out there. If I take too much time to think on it, I'll get chest pains.

       When I was ready to leave, I noticed a watermelon over by the washing sink. "Joey, what are you going to do with this watermelon?"

       "Well, I was going to serve it for dinner, if I could find somebody to cut it up."

       Uh huh... good thing I brought my own knife again today, and my, oh my, that was the reddest watermelon I have ever seen! Both of us were gaping as it lay opened on the table, begging to be tasted. Then we tested it, and retested it—as we agreed we didn't want to serve it, if it weren't good enough.

       "That's the best wallamelon I've ever tasted," Joey said.

       Oh dear.

       I put on my most grandmotherly face, widened my eyes a bit, gently raised my eyebrows and said, "What?"

       Joey became seriously thoughtful. He knew exactly what I was doing, and he wanted to get it right. Think about it! In his whole life, he never ever gave a thought to that word, but in that moment, he knew—a thought was needed. He struggled, he retried "wallamelon," but he knew it didn't fly. And then... he got it! His eyes flew open, he looked so surprised, and "watermelon!" came out as clear as a bell.

       "And that's a compound word too!" he exclaimed. "Water and melon! Watermelon. Watermelon."

       Independence Day—oh, boy, howdy :)