PUFFER BALLS

       Today, the children got puffer balls. I know what they are called only because I Googled them; but, for $1 at Wal-Mart, you can buy a bunch of fun in a puffer ball. They come in ball shapes, animal shapes—you name it. When they hit a hard surface, a little ball inside them blinks brightly in multiple colors.
       We have a new gatekeeper, Rory. She's got sheared black hair and eyes to match. What a princess. I didn't get to speak with her, except for the basic introductions, but it was obvious that the pre-release are enjoying the change of scenery.
       Doug was in a snit when I found him rummaging and grumbling in the big cooler. "Bad day?" I asked.
       "It's a great day!" he said. "I just need to figure out what's for dinner, and I'll be fine!" Within 5 minutes he had settled on the dinner menu, and he was so fine after that! I do enjoy that fellow!
       Yes, I was expected to make the soup, and we had the "tub chicken" as a side, as well as potato salad and fruit. Today's soup was not unlike all the others in that it was different. There was no plethora of assorted canned goods for the creation. To my delight, though, there was plenty of canned chicken, and as always lots of tomato sauce. Once I added the one can of corn, the one can of green beans, four potatoes I saved from the cooler, a cup of chopped broccoli, a cup of elbow macaroni, and a cup of pintos I found in the cooler, it became the perfect soup—topped with a few fancy croutons. Doug ate two bowlfuls before we'd finished feeding the first group!
       We lost another pre-release last week. As always, it was a fellow I admired—a very talented artist! He had earned a visit to his home, and by the time all was said and done, he'd drunk himself to a fare-thee-well, broken his probation, and been returned to the big house. Doggone it!
       Again, there were plenty of helping hands from that group, cleaning and mopping for Doug. Nice bunch of folks—but one or two will stray from time to time.
       Not long before lunch, a tiny older woman came in and asked if she could get a cup of coffee. I said, "Certainly! Just don't take it out of the dining room."
       "Oh, I won't," she promised.
       Five minutes later Doug was asking, "Did that woman take coffee out of here again??!"
       I looked around, and the woman was gone. Obviously, I am a poor monitor! The good news is that this resident will be moving out on Thursday. The bad news is that she must leave because her time is up, and she hasn't made any effort to become independent.
       The homeless were more upbeat than recent Sundays. Too, their numbers were much smaller than lately. The little girls came in as soon as we opened the doors for their group. They and their mother looked at the plates we were offering, turned up their noses, and took nothing. The mother took the girls to a table where she removed foods from a backpack. They sat and ate. Later, she came to the counter for something unrelated, and told me her girls were "really picky eaters." What is SHE? Anyway, they got their puffer-ball toys, gum, candy, and a bottle of bubbles. Again, they showed no emotion.
       "My boy" was not at lunch today, but his buddy was, so I gave that child a puffer ball, gum, candy and bubbles, and left the same for "my boy" with the other child's mother. She was most appreciative. Oh, and you'll love this: When I pulled into the parking lot this morning, the maple tree in front of my car was decked out with "fort" stuff—big sticks, little sticks, a bottle of water nestled into the fork in two branches. Sadly, by the time I left, it had all been cleaned up. Hopefully, the boys can rebuild.
       Last week, I took some pictures of the soup and the squash, but I forgot to share them—so here they are.
       The Bureau of Prisons continues to behave irrationally—sniping at folks one hour, and sucking up to them the next. It's very much a crap shoot as to who might be working there from one week to the next. And (unrelated) Mr. Huggy is still around. I had opportunity to avoid a hug from him last week. Doug says, "He gives me the creeps." No kidding! This week, The Hugs was late coming to lunch because he'd taken one of the women residents to church—just one. Time was, that man would load up a van of churchgoers—but times have changed.