Location: American Indian Center
Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014; 10:00
am-2:00 pm
I can recall a
time
When I wasn't
ashamed to reach out to a friend
Wilson drove me to my next location, which was going to be
the same as last year; the ‘American Indian
Center’. As I have said before, I
like symmetry and it would be a good thing to go back after a year. I had some time to spare and so went to a
French bakery in the neighborhood and contemplated on all things that one
usually contemplates on at birthdays.
Wilson had left for another project, but I got a text from him saying that
the leader at 'AIC' was not well and so he was coming back to help out. Well, looks like I was doing another project
with him then.
And, now, I think
I've got
A lot more than
just my toys to lend
 |
| The magnificent murals of 'AIC' |
I walked over to 'AIC' and entered the building exactly a year
after my last visit. I knew where the kitchen
was and walked over to see a couple of ladies were already prepping. I introduced myself and one of them
said that she would call me “Ray” or “R” instead. I have never been called either of the before
and said that it would be perfectly acceptable.
It was clear to me that the other lady was in charge and she immediately
put me to work by asking me to wash two giant pans in which she put huge frozen
slabs of mashed potatoes. Also, there
was a giant pot of carrots that needed to be drained and refilled and it took
all of my strength and balance to take it to the sink and back. Wilson had arrived and now we had to cut open
the plastic wrap around the mashed potatoes.
It was easier said than done since the packaging was very tight and even
though I had scissors; my hands had become numb because of the cold. Wilson proposed that we soak the bags in hot
water and thus making it easier to slit open.
As with his other ideas, this worked out just fine. We put the slabs in the pans and shoved them
in the oven.
Now there's more
to do
Than watch my sailboat
glide
The menu was hamburger meat with gravy and a side of mashed
potatoes. Wilson told me that usually it
was whatever was delivered by the ‘GCFD’
truck, since all the food is donated. The
hamburger meat had been cooking and our task was to transfer it to another pan and remove all the fat which had risen up to the surface. Wilson asked me to open 25 packs of gravy
powder and then mix with 25 cups of water.
While he was encouraging me to hold multiple bags in my hand and empty
them in water, I knew that this would end in disaster if I did that, and so
preferred to do it in a more controlled way.
It took some adjustment between powder and water to get the right
consistency, but we managed to get the gravy done. We were looking at the mashed potatoes in the
oven and they were still frozen and rock solid.
We flipped them over and tried to scrape off some of the loose stuff,
but it was clear that it was not going to be ready on time. Once again Wilson, thinking 2 steps ahead,
added additional bags of frozen potatoes to a big pot of boiling water, in which
he was already boiling bags of frozen clam chowder. He also started boiling some milk which he
said we would add to the pans in the oven.
Talk about being on an episode of “Dinner
Impossible”! He could totally pull
it off.
And every day can
be
 |
| It was a hearty plate |
We had been joined by another volunteer Joshua, and I was immediately
impressed by his warm and friendly nature.
He and I started plating the soup and soon realized that there wasn’t
enough for the number of people that were outside. As expected, Wilson jumped into action by
opening some tomato soup and boiling that.
Next, the lady in charge showed us how to make a sample plate, with a
slice of bread, on which was a big scoop of mashed potatoes. Then came the hamburger meat, which had now
been mixed with the gravy. We then put
on the plate a scoop of carrots, which had been drizzled with maple syrup. It was a hearty plate, full of meat and
starch. I commented that hopefully there
were no vegetarians and Joshua said that there were no vegetarians amongst the
natives! I was plating food fast and
trays of 6 plates were disappearing into the dining room. Our original Volunteer leader had now arrived
and had started opening cans of rice pudding dessert. Once enough lunch plates had been sent out, I
started on the dessert bowls, which contained the pudding and were topped with
powdered cinnamon. It really was a nice
looking feast.
My magic carpet
ride
 |
| What Dreams May Come |
All the food had been served meaning that I could take a break, and so
went down to the lower level to see the food pantry and the enormous clothing
room. The truck from ‘GCFD’ had just arrived and so there was
a lot of activity in progress. I came
back upstairs and looked inside the main dining hall. All the native elders were still hanging
around, with some playing cards, some reading newspaper while some were
chatting. One gentleman was even playing music on the stage. I saw a woman sitting with some beautiful “Dreamcatchers” and I went over to
admire them. They were vibrant in their
colors and she said they were made of real feathers from exotic birds. I asked how long she has been doing this and
she said since mid-90s, when she had become disabled. They were truly lovely and I decided to buy
one. I told her that it was my birthday
and so she should choose one for me. I
had picked up a purple one –closest to violet – and she said that I should
stick with the same. She said that it
was “speaking to me” and also because
it was her favorite color. Well, that was
good enough for me.
And I can play
hide and seek with my fears
I came into the kitchen and Wilson was leaving for his ‘FEMA’ training. Before that he introduced me to an elder who
had painted all of the extraordinary murals inside the 'AIC'. I told him that these were some of the most
beautiful ones that I had ever seen and that is the truth. I helped sweep the floor and then Joshua and
I put the remaining food in pans. Thankfully
there was a board meeting in the evening and thus the food would required for
that. Else it would have been thrown
away and that’s always something that makes me cringe. Having finished everything I thanked Joshua
for working with me and he had been a wonderful partner. Before I left I spend some time walking
through the center, admiring the murals and taking in the unique ambiance that
this place has. There was one final
project to go to and I bid goodbye to 'AIC'.
Who knows, I may be back in a year.
And live my days
instead of counting my years
To be concluded…
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