Location: Lincoln Park Community Center
Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014; 6:15-8:00
am
I think I'm going
back
To the things I
learnt so well in my youth
It was my birthday…again.
And I do say it with the exact apathy as it reads. Don’t get me wrong. As I have said in the past, some days hold
special significance for me; birthday’s probably being on the top of the
list. But while I can try making them
special for others, in the immortal words of Gisele, people cannot throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. So in the absence of what I would really like to happen, I
did the next best thing and signed up to do three projects. Well, at least that would keep me busy.
I think I'm
returning to
Those days when I
was young enough to know the truth
My first stop was cooking breakfast at the Lincoln Park
Community Center, which is a shelter for both, men and women. It was raining that morning as I took a cab
to the location, which was in a good looking neighborhood. I was
dropped outside a building that looked like a church and was trying to figure out the way in when a
lady came over and let me through the door.
She was a staff member at this place and as I followed her inside, I
entered a pretty community room that was adjacent to a big kitchen. There was a young man there making coffee and
he said that he was the overnight volunteer, with one of his tasks being making
coffee for the residents prior to leaving.
I washed my hands and was waiting for other volunteers when Wilson
arrived. As is usual for cooking
projects that he does, he was carrying his own cooking pans, and said that our Volunteer
leader JD was running a bit late. Wilson
told me that this was one of the city’s best shelters with two bunk-bed styled
dorms, one each for men and women. There
was also a “graduation board” of past
residents who have now moved on successfully.
Now there are no
games
To only pass the
time
 |
| My veggies |
JD arrived and we went over to get supplies from his
car. There were just three of us in attendance and it would be a challenge to get everything done on time. For an
apron I picked a bright violet one, well because it was after all my birthday
and I like all things violet. JD asked
if I wanted to cook bacon and eggs or chop and I decided to go with the
chopping. It took 3 tries to find the
right knife, upon which I started working on some peppers. Wilson had the bacon going in the oven while
he diced onions. I then started
sautéing the onions and peppers while JD and Wilson made eggs. Considering a late start and us being understaffed, we were making good progress.
The cooking was done and so I helped JD arrange avocado’s in a dish as
well as put out strawberries in a bowl.
I wanted to chop them as well, but Wilson insisted on leaving them
whole, saying that this was how ‘Native
Americans’ liked them. I had my
doubts if we would see many ‘Native
Americans’ here, but hey, it meant less work for me!
No more coloring
books
No Christmas bells
to chime
We went into the dining area where the residents had already
assembled. As I went about putting salt
and pepper shakers on each table, one gentleman asked me where he could get
some DVDs for free. I had never
encountered that question before and said that perhaps he could try the
library. He said that he wanted blank
discs and I said that those would be difficult to find free of charge and his
best bet would be to look on ‘Craigslist’. I went to the serving station where it was JD
on eggs, Wilson on vegetables and me on bacon. The theme was breakfast tacos and there were
tortillas, salsa, avocado, cheese and ‘Cholula’
sauce, which was quite popular. The
residents formed an assembly line as they made their own tacos with a little
help from us. Everyone who came over was
really friendly and thanked us for doing this taco idea.
But thinking young
and growing older is no sin
 |
| Well at least I got a cake |
As breakfast wound down, we saw folks getting ready to go
out – some for work and others to find work.
As they left, everyone else in the room was wishing them well. Everyone gets down on luck at some stage of
their life and this support from others who recognized that was very endearing
to see. I overheard one gentleman say to
another that someone had promised him a life sized birthday cake with a woman “popping out” singing “Happy Birthday”. He said that he would pay for that and I said
that I would chip in as well to see the show!
We went inside the kitchen to wash the dishes and with Wilson’s
efficient process were soon done. He
said that this was indeed a good community and many of the residents gave back
via volunteer work. Before we left, Wilson opened a box of cupcakes and said that I should cut one in lieu of a
birthday cake. Hey, I had my birthday cake after all and it had certainly been
a good start to the day.
And I can't play
the game of life to win
To be continued…
Did you hang your dreamcatcher?
ReplyDeleteYes, its hanging in the right place.
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