Paint the Town Red

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

Date: Sunday, June 23, 2013; 2:30-6:00 pm

I had been out this morning when Wilson called and asked if I needed a ride to the Pat Crowley House.  He picked me up in downtown, and as we headed there, I learned that we were the only two volunteers this afternoon.  At any other project this could be a problem, but with its more intimate setting, at this location even two volunteers can give the residents a great experience.  We were going to be making crystals this afternoon and if there is any activity that requires immense patience, it is formation of crystals, which in nature can take millions of years.  While we did not have that amount of time, Wilson asked me if I could stay back an additional hour this evening.  I said that I could and we arrived at Pat Crowley House armed with packets of ‘Instant Crystals’, some vases to grow them in, and interesting looking LED based stands on which to place those vases.  Wilson said that we should do this session in the back yard.  We set everything outside, but realized that it may be a bit warm for the residents.  But it was still a lovely day and so as a compromise, we settled on the back porch, which had some chairs as well as a table.  Mabel, who is one of the residents who always participates, joined us along with Andrew.  Annabelle and the RA Kara also settled down for what was sure to be a relaxing afternoon, consistent with the theme of our project.  

The crystal making kit

The garden at this place is really pretty and as we sat overlooking it, Mabel said that she wanted to take some pictures.  She had her camera with her, but we couldn't get it to work, despite changing batteries and trying some other things such as shaking it!  Even though the camera did not work, we were still having a good time making our crystals.  There were plenty of crystal kits and depending on which color crystal you wanted to make, you had to dissolve the appropriate powder in the hot water inside the small glass vases and bowls that Wilson had brought with him.  Furthermore, to act as a nucleation site, a small rock was placed inside the glass container.  Then it was a lot of waiting and patience.  There were plenty of kits and containers, so I made Green, Purple and Orange crystals, as did Mabel.  I also mixed two colors to see what that would yield.  Mabel was doing well for herself and only required assistance from me in adding hot water from a kettle that Wilson had brought from the kitchen.  Andrew was content to sit and observe as was Kara.  Our solutions were ready and we arranged all containers in a row and then since we had time, started chatting. 

Crystallography!

My experience with growing crystals predates this afternoon’s activity and there was a time when I could have a conversation in 'Miller Indices' jargon such as 100, 101 or 111 and not be thought a lunatic.  Back in graduate school, I was studying crystallography and was trying to grow thin crystalline films for semiconductor devices through a process known as ‘Metal Organic Molecular Beam Epitaxy’.  I mentioned that and as expected, was staring at a bunch of blank faces.  I said that an epitaxial crystal growth is similar to building a human pyramid.  You cannot build a tower of people unless you have a proper base.  Upon hearing me talk about a pyramid Andrew started discussing the pyramids of Egypt.  Little did he realize that pyramids are a perfect representation of tetrahedral crystal symmetry.  Andrew then moved on to talking about astronomy and search for origins.  He said that recently he has been thinking a lot about science and religion and how science can actually help religion.  I channeled my inner Carl Sagan and said that at the end of the day, science and religion are both means of searching for the truth. We then talked about birthstones, moving seamlessly from astronomy to astrology.  Kara asked if I believed in the healing power of crystals.  I knew what she was referring to, having seen people wearing crystals around their necks as pendants.  I said that I believed in the healing power of faith and if the people wearing the crystals believed in its power, then they would get healed.  I concluded that saying that while men may wear crystals for its so called healing power, the only crystals women care about are the ones on their finger or their earrings or their necklace! 

Waiting for the crystals to develop

While we were waiting on the patio, we were joined by Debbie who runs the cooking program at this location.  While it is usually on alternate Sundays with ‘Paint The Town Red’, today it was on the same day due to some scheduling quirk.  Her husband also came over to chat with us, while one other volunteer periodically kept an eye on the food.  The solutions were still far from developing any crystals and Kara asked us what was the longest that we have waited for anything.  Wilson added that it could also be something that we are still waiting for.  I said that waiting for something is fine as long as it is without hope.  Kara asked what the difference was and I said when you wait without hope, you do not put your life on hold and while it may not be completely fulfilling, one can still live a meaningful life.  On the other hand if you harbor hope then everything could come to a standstill and nothing good comes out of that.  This discussion of a meaningful life led to us asking what makes people happy.  I said that my recent experience of being around ‘Wish Granters’ of Make-A-Wish has demonstrated that for some people, happiness is making others happy…it is as simple as that.  Wilson asked if that is the case, how do you know what makes others happy.  I said that it was different for different people at different times of their lives.  For instance, a baby is happy just staring at the mobile on its crib, whereas for toddler it may be a toy and for a teenager it may be a gadget.  That’s the wonder of being unique individuals.  Everyone has a different perception of happiness…though I do agree that deep down, it may all be the same.

The crystals were going to take some time, so we all went inside and sat around the table.  Debbie’s group was almost done and she served dinner to the residents on an adjacent dining table.  Andrew, whose birthday is coming up soon, will be turning 87.  Debbie asked if there was anything in particular that he wanted to request in terms of food and he said shrimp.  Debbie said that she will make sure he gets it.  Mabel told us how she likes cooking for her family.  She said that her favorite thing was steak and she had a sauce recipe which her husband and son liked.  Speaking of her son, he stopped by to visit with her and we gave them some privacy.  As Wilson and I stared at the solutions, Kara joined us and we talked about the ‘Supermoon’ which was visible in the skies this weekend.  She asked if full moon affects behavior and I said that while some people believe that it’s the gravitational pull on our bodies water content, scientific evidence does not justify it.  Not to be outdone, Wilson said that a full moon accentuates man’s primal desire to hunt and that’s what makes everyone go crazy!  One of the residents Jane, was listening to us and told us about some “super-secret Chicago full moon party” on the beach that was being held tonight.  She asked Kara if she wanted to go.  I asked if by being super-secret, you needed to have a special hand shake to get in!

Hopefully we get something like this

Wilson and I left just before 6 pm, after arranging the vases with solutions by the window.  Wilson said that he would stop by the next day to check on the progress.  We saw Annabelle waiting outside for her friend, who was picking her up for dinner.  When we saw her friend, we were pleasantly surprised since she was young and had come just to meet with Annabelle.  This shows how special the residents of this place are to everyone who has met them.  This afternoon had been about patience.  That’s the wonderful thing about crystals.  Sometimes you have to wait for a long time, but in the end you see something special.  Years ago I had spent months building an apparatus to grow crystals and months after, trying to make it work.  But day-after-day, week-after-week, it led to nothing but frustration.  It was a long time ago, but I remember that evening like it happened yesterday.  It was Thanksgiving eve and a snowstorm had hit New England.  I would been well within my rights to take a day off, especially with a long holiday weekend coming up.  But something compelled me to run one final experiment before going home.  As I removed my sample from the vacuum chamber, I could tell something was different.  I rushed to the analytics lab and spectroscopy confirmed what my eyes were telling me.  I was looking at a crystalline film, perhaps the most beautiful thing I had seen in all of my years in that lab.  It was perhaps apt that at that moment outside the snowfall had begun and another type of crystals – natures finest – were being reflected in the evening lights.  To this day I believe something magical happened that evening and while scientific data would explain why we had succeeded, there is something you may not want an explanation for…not at that moment at least.  You just believe.  Wilson had deliberately chosen crystals as a way of reiterating that, while we are used to the fast paced life nowadays, a little bit of patience can create wonders.  And gosh darn it, some things are just worth waiting for – even without harboring any hope.

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