MID-JANUARY

       Joey and Gappy greeted me this morning—both afflicted with awful colds. Gappy's condition was especially precarious. After he'd touched all the refrigerator doors and brought me a diet Dr. Pepper ("Miss Joy, I know what you want; I'll take care of you,") I finally told him, "You really shouldn't be in this kitchen, as sick as you are." He left then, but I've no idea how long he'd already been there… Bless his heart.

       Joey's cold was less severe. He spent the morning at the chicken sink, skinning chicken. The phone rang off the hook, and it was always for Joey, so he changed his gloves often.

       My favorite door unlocker, ONE, is back! He's going to be working the day shift until otherwise directed. I was so excited to see him, and I let him know! Maybe he'll bring me another good story.

       We needed only 12 sack lunches, and I had finished those and begun work on 15 PBJ sacks when my friend Bonnie walked in! She wants to hold down the fort while I am away this winter, so she had come to "learn the ropes." She got baptized good and proper, too! We were 15 minutes shy of serving time for the pre-release folks, so Bonnie washed her hands, donned an apron, wiggled into a pair of gloves, and began spooning food onto plates. We handed off the plates until we'd put 24 of them on the serving shelf.

       Bonnie was incredibly fast and efficient, self-starting, and hard working. We'd never taken the time to talk about the shelter, so she came in thinking that those poor folks waiting around outside in the cold must be so hungry… She didn't know they live there or that they can (and do) sometimes take a plate and then throw it in the trash. She didn't know about the two groups or their disparity but, as I said, she got christened. What a trooper! She left saying, "It was fun!" and I said, "Bonnie, you're weird."

       Aaron is still seeking employment. He wasn't as "up" as last week, but I understand his frustration. He's still reading, and today he said he'd done some writing! We never get enough time to contemplate the universe, but we cover an enormous amount of ground in the few minutes that we have.

       I hope Bonnie will adopt Aaron while I am away. Next week I'll feel forced to tell him that I'm going away for awhile—child abandonment, that's what it is. I hate it.