JUST ANOTHER SUNDAY FOR MOST

       What would we do without change? Mr. A. didn't come today because he had some paying work elsewhere. Helpful came, and I'm sure Doug asked him to because, as he told me, he had "no help." Because I'm there only about 3 hours, I can see why Doug would want help for the whole day. Still, Helpful did a lot of nothing while I was there, and he was polite. As Doug said, when I was leaving, "At least Motor Mouth behaved himself today."

       I found 3 sacks of Hershey's kisses in the candy bin. I served out two of them and brought the other one home for safeguarding. Doug said he'd stash away any other such candies, should they come in.

       As for lunch, it appeared that they didn't need me at all. Doug said we were having "the new nasty chicken salad," fruit cocktail, potato soup, and pizza for lunch. For dinner, he made huge pans of chicken wings—some hot, some BBQ—we're talking TWO bottles of hot sauce!

       He told Helpful to make the potato soup, and some potatoes had already been cut up and boiled. Helpful has never cooked anything there, so it was interesting to observe his efforts. Doug helped him put a large pot of water on to boil. Lighting the burner was the first part of the lesson. Then he told Helpful to put some salt and pepper in the water. Helpful opened the lid to the pepper can on the "pour" side, and poured it in. The water was black! Then Helpful disappeared.

       Doug remarked that it was interesting how people just disappear in the middle of a job. Eventually, Doug added his own ingredients to the black water, even though I begged him to pour off at least half of that water and replace it. Not happening.

       Naturally, Doug finished the soup, and to my utter amazement, it was THE most delicious potato soup he's ever made!

       One of our newborns, his siblings, and his mother were thrown out this week. Mom was caught stealing. I don't think a little bit of money will get them very far, and the child is only a month into the business of life.

       My little girl got a teddy bear and some gummies. Her face just lights up SO, as if she didn't have another stuffed animal to her name! What a joy she is. I hope she and her mom get a place of their own soon; no tweenager needs to be living in a shelter.

       Today, it seemed that an unusually large amount of handsome fellows among our group are missing teeth. They look so cleaned-up, intelligent and competent—until they smile.

       About Death-In-A-Tub: It really is gone forever. The burpy stuff seems to be the only choice for pre-fab chicken salad. While it has 5 fewer grams of fat, the savings is lost on the palate. Just for kicks, I suggested to Doug that I might be able to rework the burpy stuff. I poured the whole tub of it into a sieve and ran cold water over it until the water ran clear. Then I put the mixture in a large bowl and added one chopped onion, mayonnaise, about 1/2 cup grated parmesan, garlic powder, black pepper, and two small cans of chicken. Doug and I both thought it was greatly improved. It wasn't "Death," but it was palatable.

       BOB arrived around mid-morning, so we had plenty of hands. Toward the end of the last group's mealtime, Doug noticed a young man eating in the dining room and said, "He's not supposed to be in here!" Then he grabbed the phone and called Gatekeeper, "What's HE doing in here?" Then the young man headed for the door, but Doug sent Helpful to bring him back, "Five!" they shouted. They call him Five (I don't know why).

       Five came toward the counter. "He looks hungry," I said to Doug.

       "Son," Doug said, "Eat some food," and he handed him a large plateful. THAT is the Doug I love so much. His convincing harsh head-master attitude is pure genius, but the real Doug is a pushover. The only times I've seen that fellow truly angry were when street folks had defecated behind the dumpsters, and then I'd bet he's more angry at their circumstances than their desperation.

       Happy Mother's Day!