Sunday, June 21, 2015

WHERE THINGS DISAPPEAR

      That shelter kitchen is not a safe place to put anything you treasure, no matter how easy it is for you to believe surely no one would take this! Yes, someone would take "this"—would, can, does and did—as we learned again today. Yesterday, I went by the shelter on other business, and I left two containers of bubbles for the teens. Mr. A. "hid" them in the pantry, so he could give them to the kids later. Later became this morning, and after exciting the kids with the prospect of getting bubbles, those bubbles were nowhere to be found. Three of us searched high and low. Nothing. It just gets a body down after the umpteenth lifting of things that are intended for the less fortunate.
       Yesterday, we learned that our new family "needs everything." This family consists of Boy 14, Girl 16, Grandma 60?, and Great-grandma 86. No mom, no dad. No wonder I thought "Mom" looked shop worn! So some of us gathered things and shopped yesterday until we had filled some of the family's needs: shampoo, soap, toothbrushes/paste, deodorant, Tylenol, and even a big sack of yarn and knitting needles & crochet hooks for the ancient one. She wanted those. Now she can busy her hands, and it makes my heart warm because I know how important that is for us gals.
       I put together a stash of fun stuff for the teens to enjoy in these hot, idle summer days—PlayDoh, crayons, colored pencils, sketch books, and some gum. For Boy, I had a funky multi-size screwdriver that I hope he enjoys, and a 6-bottle wine box I'd put hinges on, to put his treasures in. Yes, Girl was treated equally, but with different things. Those kids are so innocent and unassuming. I imagine their lives have always been blessed with less…
       Today, I took about 50 mini-skewers of olives/cheeses/cherry tomatoes. I also took a little bottle of olives with anchovies (hoping to see the man from last week). I didn't see him, but I did meet two other fellows who were interested in those olives. They both love olives, but one had never tried them with anchovies, and he was eager to do that. He said he liked them! The other fellow said his ex-wife used to serve those kinds of things… He ate a half dozen. Of those who asked for extra skewers of olives etc., most were tall robust men. Maybe it was the pepper jack cheese that spoke to them.


       There is no news on Miss Lillian, but she's still around. As for Mr. Huggy, on inquiry I learned that he "met a girl and moved away—out of town." Good!
       For lunch we served French fries and corn dogs, all deep-fried. I put my skewer offerings on the side, along with some Hershey's kisses. Yes, there was candy in the bins today—finally. I brought home enough to last another 2 Sundays.
       Meanwhile, I guess I'll be shopping for bubbles again.

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