Paint the Town Red

Location: H.O.M.E. – Pat Crowley House

Date: Sunday, March 10, 2013; 2:30-4:30 pm

It was the first day with Daylight Savings time, though we should not have worried about forgetting that since Wilson sent an email the previous evening reminding everyone to move their clocks up by an hour.  I arrived there on time - the new one - and met other volunteers, Joe, Lisa, Noel and Ann - who had also bought her eight year old twins, a boy and a girl.  It was quite apparent that the kids did not wish to be there, especially the boy.  I told them that we were in for a really great afternoon, as is the case with any program where Wilson is the leader.  Speaking of the man, he arrived soon and announced that today we would be learning how tie Celtic knots into various shapes.  Having enough trouble with shoe laces as it is, I was not sure how this was going to play out.  But I need not have feared, Wilson had come well prepared with training videos which he would show using his laptop.  Besides this, the man had also brought a projector and speakers!

The Red Cross symbols

We got set up around the dining table with all of us gathered around to look at the wall where Wilson would be projecting his video.  The residents in attendance were Jane, Mabel and Annabelle, who said that she prefers painting, but was willing to give this a try.  Not that she had much choice since Wilson was determined that we all learn at least one new knot before the afternoon was over.  The first thing we noticed was Wilson’s laptop's wall paper, which was composed of three shapes, a plus sign, crescent moon and a diamond.  Wilson makes every discussion a learning exercise and asked us if we could guess what they were.  We said that one of them looked like the symbol of The American Red Cross, and Wilson said that in fact all of them were affiliated with the organization.  Anyone wearing the symbol of the Red Cross is protected in a war zone as serving a humanitarian role.  However due to religious sensibilities, they needed to come up with something that would not only be easily recognized in all parts of the world, but also accepted.  After spending considerable time and money, Red Cross had finally settled on the diamond shape.  I told Wilson that the same resources could have been better utilized in actually helping people, rather than catering to narrow minded societies who have a problem with accepting help due to a symbol.  But who am I to know how different cultures think, especially in developing nations. 

My 'Celtic Heart'

Wilson started the video and first up was a ‘Celtic Heart’.  At first glance it looked difficult, but Wilson was prepared to play it again and again, no matter how many times, till we got it.  He played it one step at a time and slowly but surely, I started putting it together.  The looping and everything was fine, but the actual art was in massaging the knot to get it in the right shape, which in this case was a heart.  Noel who was next to me managed to do so, while mine resembled, well not sure what it resembled.  Wilson said that mine looked like the twin hearts of Chicago Cares.  Maybe that’s what I should tell everyone I was aiming to make!  There was a minor incident of me cutting myself while trying to trim the rope, but all-in-all; it was a successful effort for almost everyone.

One of the reasons I had liked coming for this project had been the interaction with the residents and today was no exception.  Annabelle, a devout catholic, and Wilson discussed the new Pope and others chimed in as well.  But my best conversation of the afternoon was yet to happen and that started when Andrew made an appearance.  He remembered me from previously and I walked over to his side of the room, thinking that my semi-success with the knot had let me off the hook from trying the more complex ones to follow.  I knew that Andrew was a competent sketch artist and saw that there was a beautiful one of a woman.  Noel, who had also joined us, and I asked Andrew who she was and what followed is one of the more wonderful stories that I have heard. 

The woman in the picture is Dorothy, someone whom Andrew has known for over 40 years.  It was quite obvious that he loved her and I asked if he would be willing to tell us more.  Andrew seemed quite happy, even eager, to do so.  Dorothy lives in Pennsylvania and used to be married to an abusive husband.  Andrew was the faithful friend and perhaps it was her lack of happiness at home that brought them closer.  Dorothy told him that she would “Love him always”, something that is still true to this day.  “Best thing a man can hear”, Andrew told us.  I definitely could not argue against that.  I asked him why she doesn't move here and he said she has some family there and plus their age was an issue, her being 77 to Andrew’s 86.  Andrew said that two years ago he had even asked her to marry him, but she had turned him down.  “That shouldn't stop you from asking again”, I said, to which he laughed.  They still talk on the phone three times a week, something that I suspect keeps Andrew going.  He mentioned that doctors have told him that he is ‘day-to-day’, though he may still be around for many years.  “That should make each of your calls with Dorothy special”, I said and he replied it always was. 

Besides Dorothy and sketching, if there’s anything Andrew likes, it’s guns.  He told us about his time as a security guard and of the time when he had a gun pointed at his head.  After taking a look at our wide-eyes faces, Andrew said we need not have worried since he “Moves like lightning”.  He asked Noel and I if we had ever held a gun and we both said no and hopefully we never have to.  Andrew talked about how he was almost deployed in Europe during WWII, the war being over a week before he was to be shipped out.  I said he looks better with a pencil in his hand rather than a gun and that he should sketch for us.  He said he prefers working by himself, though he would love to go back to school and take some classes.  He asked Noel, who works in the School of Art, if they offered anything part-time.  It was tremendous that he still had that passion to keep on learning about something that he loves.  He was showing us a picture he was working on, of Marilyn Monroe and Wilson asked if it was full-length.  Aah Wilson, we had almost forgotten about the activity that was going on around us. 

'Infinity' (left) and 'Crochet' (right) knots

Wilson had advanced them to doing more complicated knots like ‘Infinity’ and ‘Crochet’ knots.  I was still massaging mine to get it into a heart shape, but it was doing more harm than good.  The two kids who were complaining initially were now completely engrossed and the girl had in fact created some really nice ones - such is Wilson’s magic.  Amongst the other volunteers, Lisa had done an extraordinary job and we were surprised to learn this was her first attempt at this.  Noel and I were now talking with Annabelle who talked about the treatment for her eyes and how painful the weekly process was.  But it was necessary in order to preserve her sight. 

It was time to leave and once again, everyone thanked us for being there.  Andrew said that it was nice to have people in the house I knew what he meant.  I chatted with Wilson who showed me the amount of time that he has committed to Chicago Cares since he started.  The man has over 750 hours over the last 18 months.  Let that number sink in for a bit.  That’s almost 42 hours a month.  And this is besides his work with One Brick, Red Cross and the time he puts in with projects such as AIC, which are not through Chicago Cares programs.  Noel and I talked on the bus about the stories we had heard this afternoon.  We had not gotten a lot of knots made, but the program is really about interacting with the residents and we had succeeded in doing that.  There have been so many Sunday afternoons that I have spent in front of the TV or watching a movie.  But no Hollywood story can hold a candle to listening to Andrew tell us about his lifelong love that has lasted over 40 years.  It had definitely made my week. 

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy