There were several cars and a van in
the front parking lot this morning, and a few people were outside in our balmy
40 degrees, so I avoided the crowd and parked in back. This time, I knocked
very loudly and stood far back, so as to not frighten Doug when he opened the
door. Success.
On the stove, Doug had a very large metal pan
covering two burners and filled with hamburger. He was making spaghetti sauce
for tonight's dinner. The bag of soup provisions that we had set aside last
week had remained unmolested (though not without a bit of guarding), and I set
about to fill a pot. Our gatekeeper today was Rory, the cute girl with sheared
black hair. She kindly let me into the pantry out front, so I could glean more
cans of vegetables for my brew.
The foyer was occupied by a
number of folks who had no place else to be, but by tomorrow they will be
there fighting for their lives against snow and single-digit temperatures. One
of our homeless residents came to lunch with a vivid "sunburn" across
his nose and cheeks—a clear sign of exposure.
Doug told me to fill that soup
pot up to the top, so I did. When the soup was finished, I stepped up to help
him with a pot of spaghetti. He was whining that it always burns on the bottom
of the pot, and he can never get it "right." So I volunteered. We
cooked four boxes of spaghetti at the time (twice). It came out perfectly,
though the one strand that I slung against the wall (testing, you know) just
slid down behind the stove. We never saw that one again…
On the side, we served crackers, egg salad and fruit. I made the usual two plates
with sardines, and they were scarfed up by the pre-release. The last one was
taken by a man who looked at me hesitantly, reaching for the plate, and asked,
"May I have the sardines?" I need to take more of those.
Among the homeless residents
there were the same little brothers as in weeks past and "my boy." I
hadn't seen him in awhile, and of course, I enjoy spoiling him. There is also a
baby at the shelter now, but he was not at lunch.
Of interest among Doug's
stories was that of a woman we've had for many weeks whose behavior was always
a bit off. This week she came in loopy and began threatening anyone in sight
that she was going to cut them. She failed the breathalyzer test, and she no
longer lives there.
And there was a gentleman at
lunch whose name was not on the roster. He told me his name and said he had
slept on the floor and that he was with another guy who actually has a bed
there—like, "I'm with him." No, folks can't do that, but Doug let
the man slide.
The soup pot was nearly empty
after the 2nd group ate, and Doug asked me to fill it again, so he'd have soup
for later, though I don't understand how "later" and "dinner"
work exactly. I just know the people can eat two more times after lunch, before
the kitchen closes for the night. Too, he wanted to leave a starter meal for
Dean who will be cooking tomorrow.
All in all, it was a
delightful morning! Oh, and a young woman who volunteered on Christmas day has
begun coming on Saturdays, just as she said
she was going to do. She loved it so much, she said, that she wanted to come
again and again—and she did. She is one of many who have said that, but she
is the first to follow through. She told Doug, "If you don't see me
here on Saturday, worry about me!" Also, she has my same last name and first initial.
The health department showed
up this week—Doug's first on-the-job checkup. He scored a 99! Now if the folks
who order the food will just pay as much attention to his list of needs, maybe
the shelves and coolers will fill up again—we're talking major dearth of food in the place today!
Snow and ice are on the way;
Doug is turning off his phone for his two days off, and the place will be on
its on. I'll let you know how it fared. Shoot… one broken power line could put ME in need of shelter…
No comments:
Post a Comment