ABBA DA!

       There's a bitter cold wind today—dark skies—and misting rain. Those are key elements in predicting the flow of homeless into a shelter. In fact, one could report the weather by counting heads.
       A number of our pre-release were visiting family, so their group was small, but the homeless crowd …crowded in. The woman with 4 boys had 3 of them at lunch. Her high-chair baby is growing so fast. He's no longer sitting placidly as events pass him by. No. When I handed out Beanies, that baby reached out and spoke to me, "ah! ah!" He hugged his critter to his chest, then looked back at me, smiling, "abba da!" In fact, all of that woman's boys have high-level language skills. I hope life gives them lots of rewarding opportunities to use them.
       No little girls today, but I left the promised dolly with the 6-year-old's father. The couple with the newborn and 5-year-old were there, and as always I really enjoyed my minute visit with the child. The infant grows noticeably from week to week, and remains ever in his father's arms.
       On the whole, the group was fairly seedy looking, but they were upbeat. I don't think they knew how cold the wind would blow in the next 2 hours… And, oddly, no one complained about the food—which I, personally, thought was a complete flop!
       Joey said he had some breaded fish to deep fry, but it was salmon and it was fishy! The rolls he baked were bland and dry. The buttered spinach we heated was good, as were the cubed potatoes (heavily buttered, salted and with coarse pepper). A few lucky folks got deep-fried chicken patties. We had at least two who are allergic to fish. Then there were leftover plates with pizza and chili, and someone had donated a pile of enchiladas labeled "fish," "jerk," "buff" (buffalo), and "chic." A lot of brave people ate their fill at lunch today.
        I made a dozen lunch sacks, and I got to introduce myself to the young fellow who is our Sunday gatekeeper at the moment—just adorable. Mr. Huggy is around, as Joey mentioned things they've been cooking together, but I left too early to see him.
       Poor Joey… he confessed to having had one or two margaritas this week, and trying to balance their effects with energy drinks. "Sweetheart," I told him, "those things are called uppers and downers. You need to sleep it all off and not do those again." I mentioned flushing his system with lots of water, and choosing a banana before the bad stuff. It's not his usual behavior—far from it—but two old friends have come around lately, and it's their usual behavior. I'm glad he has the confidence to share all of that with me. He appears to listen when I talk.
       As for school, new classes have started, and Joey has a new teacher. He likes her, and she's teaching him how to match subjects with verbs.
       Here's hoping the FOOD will be better next week. I guess it's time to make quiche again.