IT's NOT LOOKING SO GOOD

       This song and dance are getting very old… but while I am not convalescing so much now, I did pick up a virus this week—so I and my sore throat stayed home from the shelter yesterday and went to the doctor today. Meds are being applied.
       However, there IS a report from the shelter kitchen. While daughter slept off her jet lag, her roommate trooped into town, loaded with two sacks of toys for the girl and boy. She was greeted by a harried Mr. A. and a community service "volunteer"—working off a DUI. Gatekeeper was checking out the dinner menu, and Mr. A. was rushing to make hotdogs for lunch. Because I have been absent for so long, I have missed the news of Doug's illness. He's been hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks, but plans are afoot for a procedure to improve his condition. He's a super-great fellow, very talented, funny and bright. The shelter misses him.
       Now we all have a better understanding of Mr. A's rush and the pressure that's on the modest crew left to serve three meals a day.
       The pre-release came in 10 minutes early—with no apologies. One of the women became annoying, making demands, and Mr. A. had to give her a piece of his mind. Wish I'd been there.
       Both the girl and the boy came to lunch, and Roommate very much enjoyed giving them their goodies. As always, our girl squealed repeatedly over the soft bunny I'd sent—named him "Fuzzy Fuzzy." Apparently, a slight modification of the name will suffice as the characters become somewhat redundant. She just doesn't mind. The boy loved his goodies too. All's well.
       Roommate was impressed with Mr. A's peach cobbler-making skills and personal recipe. After lunch, she made breakfast sacks, and DUI Girl made PBJs. So the pace was fast today. The dinner menu was impressive, but the lunch fare was much more simple than would have been tolerated in bygone days. Things change. All we can do is try to catch a few cow chips as they fall.