STILL CRAZY

      …after all these years.

       Mr. A was coming out as I was going in. His eyes said it all, but he was kind enough to put some words to it, "I'm gone."

       Oh, dear.

       Crazy ignored me when I stepped into the kitchen with a strong "Good morning!" Doug was preoccupied at the stove and never turned around. I put on my apron and washed my hands. That was one cold kitchen—and only partly because the back door was left wide open.

       For about 10 minutes, I puttered around breaking up chocolate bars and putting candies in a bowl. Crazy yelled, "Miss Joy! Don't nobody want them chocolates!" I ignored him. Finally, I asked Doug for an assignment. He said, "Give me 2 minutes, and I'll show you." Then he took 20 minutes. When he immerged from the cloud of hostility, he apologized, explaining that Mr. A had let him down awfully, having come to work impaired yesterday and having left the place in poor condition last night. He took 10 minutes to get it off his chest, then normalcy and laughter returned to the kitchen.

       Our usual gatekeeper is off today. In her stead was a jolly man about my age who knows me from my Saturday calls for head counts on the children. He was there last evening when I called and still today, having slept over, according to Doug. I've heard many times of gatekeepers sleeping over, I suppose because they have no replacements. Most surprising is how calm and upbeat they are.

       The pre-release were extra giddy today—I've no idea why. Doug says we're getting a new one next week who is known to be scary. It's been a long, long while since we had a scary one.

       The resident group was smaller than usual, and the year-old baby was the only child present. Because it's Football Sunday, a nearby establishment is giving away hotdogs, so a lot of our folks dined there, leaving us with a large amount of food for the "overflow," who will come in tonight when temperatures drop. They'll get leftover cardboard pizza, hot broccoli soup with cheese, and a cot in the hall.

       Doug and I packed 56 sack lunches and 12 breakfast sacks. Miss Lillian is well fixed for tomorrow. Oh, and there are three large boxes full of Hershey's candies (especially Christmas kisses). I don't have the strength to bring home a load to save for them, but I surely wanted to. When the candy well runs dry, it can be a long spell.

       Next week promises to be completely different; they don't come in any other fashion.