Chicago Cares Goes Caroling

Location: DePaul Student Union & Multiple Locations

Date: Saturday, December 19, 2015; 9:30 am-12:30 pm

It was that time again and I picked up my Santa hat and headed to the “DePaul Student Union” on a cold morning.  Chicago Cares had sent out a link to some music site for us to listen to the tunes beforehand, but I of course skipped that part of the process, preferring to “improvise” instead.  I entered the building to find a lot of familiar faces, including staff members - some former - and some volunteers who usually come for this event.  The song books for this year looked professionally done and had an index page and were alphabetically ordered.  This would help a lot as we searched for requests.  I picked one up and climbed aboard our bus, where Christmas music was playing and people were being chirpy.

"Frosty" was back again

Our first stop was at “Edith Spurlock Apartments”, which was just a few blocks away, but due to the one way streets etc., it took us longer than a brisk walk to get there.  We went inside to see that the regular Chicago Cares breakfast was going on there and residents were being served.  We assembled in lines and then took requests, starting with “Frosty The Snowman”.  There were a few requests for slow numbers like “Silent Night” and another one which I had never heard before.  We also did “Feliz Navidad”, and the performance was much better than previous years.  I was a bit out of it today and one volunteer mentioned that she saw me not sing some parts – it was the carol I had not heard before.  Plus it’s not like we were the “Albert Hall troop”, were we!

We got back on the bus and next stop was at “Flannery House”, where I used to go for “Arts & Eats” project, and which had been a stop on our caroling tour 2 years ago.  But this time instead of the room downstairs, we were on their top floor, which has an outstanding view of the city and was perfect for this activity.  We took an elevator in batches and on arrival upstairs, saw that the room was tiny for the number of people that we had.  I squeezed inside and found myself behind some fitness equipment.  At least I wasn’t in the hallway like some folks.  We took requests and for most parts, did carols that we had not performed at the first location.  After a few over here, we took off for our last stop. 

We were headed to “Diversey Square” and it took us a bit longer to get there.  As we went inside, all the residents cheered and it was by far the warmest reception that we had today.  They seemed genuinely pleased to have us there, unlike the others who had been bothered that we had disturbed their breakfast.  We started by singing “Happy Birthday” to a resident and then the request was to do that in Spanish, which of course I could not participate in – hope that was ok with the volunteer who had criticized me.  We took some requests and then did the big one, “12 Days of Christmas”, which is by far my favorite carol and I really enjoyed this performance.  We did a few more and then we were done.  The “resident coordinator” thanked us for coming and the residents wished us on our way out.  We got on the bus and were dropped off back at ‘DePaul’.  I put my hat away for another year.  It had been good, but I had not had as much fun as before.  Perhaps this was not a holiday season that I was looking forward to.

Bingo Fun At Britton Budd

Location: Britton/Budd Apartments

Date: Monday, December 14, 2015; 6:15 -7:30 pm

The place was decorated for the holidays

I always love coming here and today was no exception.  I arrived to see that the entire place had been decked out in Christmas decorations and the lobby which is already quite good to begin with, was looking even better.  I saw my buddy Elvina and she was carrying some mail and packages.  She looked tired and for the first time since I have known her, she looked…old.  I went inside and after signing up with Veronica, I sat down with Elvina and another lady Leslie, who made sure that she got my name right.  She also remembered that I had called the game last time and mentioned that I had been lucky for her.  I said, well then let’s do it again.  I asked for her favorite number and she said that it was 7, whereas Elvina’s was 8, which I knew.  Leslie said that she had read somewhere that 7 signified end of things and 8 was a new beginning.  I had not heard of such a thing, but it did sound fascinating.

Today’s prizes had a distinct holiday theme and one resident lady had even donated a box of festive cookies with a bow on top.  I saw Elvina eyeing those and said that we would win those for her.  Speaking of cookies, Veronica had baked a batch of “Chocolate Chip” cookies for the residents and everyone made a beeline for them.  I told Elvina that I would get one for her and she said that she could go and get it herself!  Leslie kept saying that the cookies were good and Elvina said, “You always see the best in everything”.  Now this could either be the sweetest thing or maybe those cookies were just plain bad!

I asked Elvina how her holiday shopping was going and she said that her daughter had gotten Elvina’s dog Magic a bigger bed.  It seems that Magic had liked the bed when visiting Elvina’s daughter and thus the new present.  I asked what she had gotten for her kids and she said that she had bought the same thing for her 4 daughters and 1 son – fluffy socks.  Leslie said she gotten some “Fleece” pants and underwear for herself.  Okay then.  The game started and a couple of people won, with Elvina watching closely if they would take the cookies; looking pleased when they didn't.  Then I won at the same time as another resident and I told Elvina to go get it.  She rushed forward to grab the cookies so fast that it would put younger people to shame. Yeah, that thing about her seeming old was premature.

I was on a roll and won the next round in record time, with the first 5 numbers on my board.  I asked Leslie to pick and she got a “Bodywash”.  Elvina won again and picked something that looked like “Cookie cans”.  There were 2 of them and she said that she would give them to each of her great grandkids.  I told her not to forget to insert some candies in them.  Veronica asked if anyone else wanted to call and I said that since Leslie had called me lucky for her, I would do so.  I called the next couple of rounds and poor Leslie did not win, though Elvina did again and picked up a small pouch like thing, which she then returned for something else.

After a few rounds, I was replaced by another volunteer and then sat next to the lady who always translates each number in Spanish for others.  She’s a nice lady and smiled whenever I pointed out that she had missed a number.  She had picked a nice Christmas themed towel and I complimented her on that.  I asked if she would use it as a towel and she said no and neither should her husband, since she wanted it for decorations.  There were a few others who had not won even once and Veronica ensured that they all got something before the end.  The last game was a jackpot round with 4 prizes and the first winner would take all, which made it high stakes.  One gentleman won them and then it was time to go.  Veronica asked if I wanted to be a leader for this and I declined, saying that I usually go to “Pet Therapy” on Monday’s.  I bid Elvina happy holidays and left after a fun evening. 

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

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, December 02, 2015; 5:45-8:15 pm

It had been 2 months since I had been here and so was looking forward to this evening.  It was nice to see some of the regulars like little Hannah and John already here.  Marianne greeted me with a hug and then assigned me my duty, which was slicing “gyros” - though not in a cool way where the meat revolves on a spit.  There were several pans with thick slabs of meat and couple of volunteers were already slicing them as thin as possible. I got hold of a knife and started slicing a slab.  It was a big one and it took me some time to get through it, to the extent that I had some cramps in my hand at the end.  After arranging the slices on a tray, I was glad to hand over the duties of slicing the last one to a new enthusiastic volunteer who was excited at being picked.  Aah, perks of being a regular.

The menu for this evening

There were a few new volunteers and I learned that they had found ‘Breaking Bread’ online through the ‘GCFD’ website. Marianne said that because all the places where the people could volunteer are arranged alphabetically, 'Breaking Bread' were at the higher end and thus people came here first.  Plus it was the holiday season and people are usually in a more “giving” mood.  Chef Dan and his wife were nowhere to be seen and I thought that we had lost one more chef.  Marianne said that they were just away and one of our regular volunteers, Adam, who is also a chef, had cooked today.  The menu was “Gyro on homemade Pita” – I was impressed by the homemade part - with “Tzatziki sauce”, rice with “Green Peas and Cheese sauce” and then “Blueberry Crumble” with “applesauce” on top. I wasn't sure about the “applesauce” but the rest looked like a solid menu. 

There were a lot of volunteers and so I could hang out in the "mancave" - as Marianne calls it - with John, Joe and Mike.  Joe was leaving Chicago to start a new job and I for one would be sad to see a familiar face go.  I joined a spirited discussion on “Pot” and was hoping that Marianne, who now was giving the new volunteers a welcome speech, wouldn't hear us.  After the prayer, we assigned duties and I elected to serve.  Before we started I went over to chat with Phil who was playing the piano and he asked if I sang or played, at which I said that I was “tone deaf”.  He said that he was looking for someone to sing and I asked about the usual lady who sings the “Beatles”. She wasn't here yet, though he said that she wanted to do "Kiss from a Rose" today, which would be terrific. 

We lined up and my task was to start the plating with “pita” and then piling two huge strips of “gyro” on top.  I would then pass the plate further along for the rest of the stuff.  We started serving and it moved at a fair pace as usual.  Once the first wave was done I took over the tallying duties during seconds.  There were a lot of people who came back and we were able to give away almost everything.  I went over to stack the chairs and wipe down the tables, with a little boy following me.  He really wanted to help with the wiping and so I let him do it.  We were done soon and after bidding Joe goodbye I told Marianne that since this was a 5-Wednesday month, I could possibly come on the last Wednesday if she needed me.

Adler After Dark

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Thursday, November 20, 2015; 5:00-10:00 pm

Yes, there was one of these as well

Tonight’s theme was called “Back 2 The Future”, as a tribute to the year shown in the 2^nd film - 2015, with its flying cars.  Well, I’m still waiting for that.  I arrived and while checking in, met Kat our new Volunteer Coordinator who has replaced Natalie.  I joined my colleagues for our staff meeting and saw that all of tonight’s activities were aligned with the movie.  They had even managed to secure a ‘DeLorean’ that was parked outside for photo ops.  Not sure if it was powered by a “Gigawatt Flux Capacitor” though!

We went on a tour and saw the ‘Rube Goldberg Machine’ activity where visitors were asked to design a contraption that would “feed the dog”, by dropping a jar of “dog food” balls, into a dog food bowl on the floor – similar to the opening scene of the first movie.  Next, we went across to the “Curiosity Classroom” to see the “3-D printers” in action.  I saw one printer making a toy ‘DeLorean’ and also a complex 3-D vase which would take all of 3 hours to make.  I asked what material was being used and the gentleman said “ABS”.  Aah, I remember a paper I had to write on it back in the day.  I asked the cost of operation and apparently it’s not much, just a few dollars. 

‘Argonne Lab’ was doing some sort of an “acoustic demo” where small objects could be suspended in air using sound waves.  The only problem was that you could hear that frequency and it wouldn’t be pleasant after a longer exposure.  I asked what the practical application was and one guy said “Applied Science”.  This wasn’t revealing and so I followed up with, “How do you make money”, and the other person responded that Pharmaceutical companies had shown interest for some of their drug studies.  We went upstairs to see the “Photobooth” which had props from the movie like the futuristic jacket, wigs, glasses and of course, the “Hoverboard”!  Our final stop was at the beer station and in the spirit of the movie; a brewery had developed special brews just for this evening.  Every guest was to have 3 tickets each for samples and they needed volunteers to help collect these tickets.  Yay for science!

It was just after 6 pm and I went over for my first assignment, which was at ‘Rube Goldberg Machine’.  There was no one over in the classroom except a staff member Adrianna.  For the next several minutes we had a good discussion around the ‘Milky Way’ and center of galaxy, but still no one was coming.  We also realized that the tiny balls were bouncing off the dog bowl as they fell from the table, adding to the complexity of the design.  There were several things that people could use in their construction, including pipes and cardboard pieces as well as other paraphernalia.  A couple came in and we explained the task, at which they got very excited.  Others started coming in and soon the room got full. 

The people were really committed to the task and we had several ideas in progress simultaneously.  People were ingenious and some had put a box around the dog food bowl to prevent the balls from escaping.  I was walking about giving advice and challenged one team to trigger the fall without touching, mentioning that they could use the vibrate function on their phone by calling it, thus setting it in motion.  A group of 4 girls came in and they were carrying a cake box.  They said that it was their friend’s birthday and she wasn’t here yet.  At this I said that I would eat the cake if she didn’t show up soon!  The room was busy and many were waiting to do their own thing, but my time was up and I reluctantly left

I was on “Pocket Science” for my next shift and I went downstairs to get my favorite, “Smelly Space”.  Some of the bottles were losing their fragrance and I had to find the ones which still had some smell.  I picked “Jupiter – inner and outer”, “Moon” and “Venus”.  I came upstairs and saw that the party was on in the “Solar System Gallery”.  I walked about in the “Mission Moon” section and saw a couple who looked lost.  I gave them some guidance and then asked if they wanted to do an activity with me.  When they said yes, I took them through my routine.  I went outside and was approached by two girls and a guy, who asked me what they should do.  I said that they could do something with me and so took them through the activity as well.  They were very attentive and one of the girls was making a limerick with the planets - though I stopped her before she could do Uranus!

It was 8 pm and I was at the “Beer Ticket Line” next, collecting tickets and putting them in a box.  Yeah, very scientific indeed.  There was a long line and I was taking tickets non-stop and telling the beer pourers which sample the guests wanted.  Fortunately for me, soon only one type was still remaining and so all I had to do was tell them how many samples and collect that many tickets.  With 3 tickets each the guests were consuming a lot of beer.  So much so that we were soon out of beer at this station.  There was another station and so I went there and relieved Bob.  Over here they still had 2 types and so I was back to asking guests their choice  I was also picking up the samples and handing them to people meaning I was really busy…very very busy.  For the next 30-40 minutes all I did was take orders and hand people the beer of their choice - till we ran out of both beers.  While doing this, I met my friends to whom I had given my tickets for this evening, and they vouched for the validity of the beer. 

My last duty was at the “Photobooth”, where I was to take peoples pictures using their phones.  People would come, dress up in props and then pose for me.  Many were wearing the “Doc Brown wig”, white coat and glasses while others were doing the “Marty McFly Jacket”.  But no matter what, everyone used the “Hoverboard”.  One lady was not getting in the photo with her friends and I urged her to do so, which she finally did.  When she came back for more with other people, I joked that she was now hooked and wanted a portfolio done.  I took hundreds of pictures and around 9:50 pm Michael came and asked me to wrap up.  Downstairs in “Johnson Theater”, a trivia game was in progress.  Although I would have loved to have stayed, I collected my things and left after a fun evening…and the theme was my favorite movie too.

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, November 16, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm

The fluffy Mickey

I had cancelled the last couple of times that I had signed-up due to work, but was determined to show up this evening.  I walked in and saw that Charta was there along with her owner Elaine, as well as an excitable fluffy ‘Maltese’ named Mickey.  I went inside the Bingo room and saw that Jim was there along with some other regulars, though there was no sign of Emma, Jack and Larry.  Jim mentioned that both Jack and Larry were not doing too well, especially Larry.  He said that our old friend Gwyn had come last week to celebrate Lee's birthday.  It seems like yesterday that we were doing the same and it had been one year.  I mentioned to Jim that I missed that project.  It was my first one with Chicago Cares and would always have a special place in my heart. 

Emma came in and she seemed half asleep, though she said that she was fine when I asked her.  I went back to the other room and it was getting full.  Besides our Volunteer leader Robyn with Bruce and June, there were other 2 other ‘Maltese’s’, all males and with Mickey, the 3 dogs looked like brothers!  I took charge of June and we went over to get treats from Joe.  Bruce found his way there as well - talk about his smell - and both of them had their fill of the treats.  I went outside to wait with Bruce and June and noticed that they had posted all residents birthdays for the month of November. I noticed that Emma's was tomorrow and I pointed it out to others, wondering how old she was. 

As usual, I was going to be with June, Robyn and Bruce.  We started on the 1^st floor and stopped over to see a lady who looked at us skeptically.  But Robyn was doing a great job of engaging her and we learned that it was just her second day here and so had no clue on what was happening. I saw a small glass ornament which had been colored and we learned that it was from her 3 year old daughter.  She opened up a bit with us and we chatted for some time before moving on.  That was it for this floor and we moved on upstairs and met with Loritta.  I asked how she was doing and she pointed to her bed and shrugged.  I told her that I was going to Atlanta, the land of her son.  She asked me why and I responded that unlike him, it wasn’t for a woman!  Robyn and I noticed a kitten valentine card on top of her bed and since it had no name, I said that Loritta had a secret admirer.  “Then why isn’t he in the bed with me”, she asked.  I couldn’t stop laughing and was doing so as we left.

We stopped to see Polly and rather than her usual exuberant self, she seemed tired and was incoherent.  Her roommate Dena looked aged and tired as well.  Polly seems to have aged quite a bit over the last few weeks and it was noticeable in the way she spoke, though she was still as sharp as ever.  She asked when I would come back and I said not for a couple of weeks.  She said she would send the dogs to find me and I said fair enough.  We stopped at another place on the 2^nd floor and met with a new lady.  She asked my name and made sure that she pronounced it right…and made sure we pronounced hers right as well.  She loves dogs and will be a permanent fixture on our visits.  Next, we went to see if David was still here and finally after saying that he would for all these years, he really has left – which was bittersweet for us.

We went to the 3^rd floor to see Jerry and Charta was already there, planted on his bed.  We waited for her to leave before putting June and Bruce on his bed, where they got some treats and then stared at the rest of them while we chatted.  Poor things were getting tired and also drinking a lot of water.  But we couldn’t leave without seeing Hannah.  We asked about her book and she showed us a rejection letter from one of the publishers.  But she also promised to keep fighting.  She said she was a ‘Gemini’ and so always tried to convince others that she was right.  I said that I was a ‘Gemini’ too, and so empathized with her.  When Robyn said that Hannah’s hair looked nice and better than hers, Hannah said that Robyn looked great no matter what.  When Robyn said no, I said don’t argue since Hannah was after all a ‘Gemini’ and would win the argument.  Hannah said that her old roommate Linda had gone somewhere and she didn’t know where.  We said that it must be for a procedure since her name was still on her room…at least I hoped so.  It was time for the pups to leave and I bid them farewell.  I saw that Emma was still looking sleepy and before I could wish her for birthday, Fran took her upstairs.  Until next time then.  And I better come soon; else Polly would set the dogs on me! 

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

Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, October 26, 2015; 6:45-8:30 pm

I came early and was waiting in the lobby when the volunteers started arriving, including some familiar ones like Susan and Melissa.  Claire came soon and I told her that Wilson was coming over since she had many cancellations.  She asked how he knew and I said never mind.  I learned that the last session, which they had asked me to lead and I couldn’t, had eventually been cancelled since no one stepped up to lead.  Wilson arrived and Claire mentioned that she had forgotten to get nametags and treats and Wilson had a solution for both  - temporary nametags made with stock paper and scotch tape and some treats left over from his movie night with Seniors.  As he went to get the treats from his car, I told the others that they would be “sugar free”, and sure enough they were.

At 7 pm we went upstairs and I saw that almost everyone was new.  We had about 7 youth including a girl who looked really young.  We started by assembling and introducing ourselves.  Most were students and one said that he was a model.  When asked for what, he said “Underwear”.  “Male or Female”, I inquired!  The young girl said that she was 13 and in 8^th grade.  She said she was a bit young for this, and in all my years of coming here, that was certainly the truth.  When my turn came for introductions, I said that I did innovation for the “Power Industry”. 

Now where would I time travel?

For the “ice breaker”, Claire gave us some questions to ask each other.  The idea was to get around and talk to as many people as possible.  My question was, “What do you like to do in your spare time”.  Some of the responses that I got included things like “Sleep”, “Read”, “Play Basketball” etc.  One of the questions that I got from a youth was, “If you could go to any time in past, present or future when would it be”.  Well, as much as I love “Back To The Future”, I don’t care too much for past, so I said that I may want to know what’s going on with me 5 years in the future.  Another question was, “What is the first thing that you would do if you won the lottery?”  I said to the girl who asked me that it depends on how much it was - $2, $200 or $2 million.  She said how about a million.  I said that I would get a car.  It doesn’t even have to be fancy.  Just get a car.  Someone else asked me, “What’s your favorite quality about yourself?”  I said that it had to be my passion for things.

The energy was definitely up and Claire got us back together.  I said that we should share some good stories and the youth who has asked me the “time travel” question said that I had given the best response.  We then got paired up and I was with this young man.  My task was to prepare him for an interview, including things like “networking” and “professionalism”.  He told me that he had just received a college scholarship to ‘TCU’ to play basketball.  Wow.  Talk about a life changer.  But what was even more impressive was that his main focus was on education and he wanted to become an “Animator”.  I asked him some questions on that and learned that he has created an entire "comic book universe" with "superheroes" and has been working on it since childhood.  He said that basketball scholarship was good, but he was really looking forward to a career after that.  I said that maybe he should aim for the ‘NBA’, make his millions and then retire at 30 to do as he pleased.  We talked about his upcoming college experience – you will have no time for girls I said – and how he should stick with people who will be good influences.  Then, since he was after all a “comic book” fan, we had a discussion on “Marvel vs DC” and “Superman vs Batman”; after which our time for this part of the evening was up.

Before we had started, Claire had given each of us a question and I had picked “Tell me about a time when he had to deal with a conflict” – since no one wanted it.  The idea was for all of the youth to come meet with each of us and answer our questions.  We were then to rank them on a scale of "1-5" and the top scorer would get a treat.  I asked my question to the young man and he mentioned how as a “Captain” of his basketball team, he had to mediate between his teammate, who was on a receiving end of a “cheap shot”, and an opposing player whose team was losing.  I said that all you need to do is point at the scoreboard and the other team would get the message. 

Two others mentioned how they had mediated between their siblings and a couple of others mentioned how they had to talk to members of their class project team who were not pulling their weight.  The model guy mentioned how one of his coworkers wasn’t doing their job and how he had to bring their supervisor in the picture.  Finally, I was paired with the 13 year old girl and I was looking forward to her response.  I was surprised to learn that she was a “counselor” with little kids and often has to mediate between them.  I also learnt that she wanted to become a “Veterinarian”, and for a 13 year old, she had a terrific head on her shoulders.  I gave her the highest grade and though she did not win, I could see that everyone else had been impressed with her as well.  After the treats had been given away, it was time to leave.  I chatted with some of the volunteers before hitching a ride with Wilson.  I couldn’t help but think about the 13 year old girl.  What a personality and I wish someone gives her the opportunities that she needs.  It would be colossal crime otherwise.

American Cancer Society Making Strides Walk

Location: Soldier Field

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2015; 7:00 - 11:30 am

Early morning call again

The skies were threatening when I arrived at ‘Soldier Field’ and it looked like we were in for a similar day like “Walk and Roll”.  I went over to "Check-In" and saw that several volunteers were already there.  I was in charge of “Luminaria’s” and there was a table for us just across the “Information Tent".  Kathryn gave me a sign to hold up so that my volunteers could find me.  I did that and sure enough 2 ladies came forward and introduced themselves as Carolyn and Xiao Mei.  It was a start.

We went over to the table and got our supplies out, which included some of the “luminaria bags” that had been made at the “Kickoff” event.  We had several empty bags and marker pens for people to make some more, though limited in colors with just a few pink and greens but mostly black pens.  Our biggest challenge though was the wind and I asked them to put some weights on the bags.  Unlike last year there were no “glow sticks” inside a tunnel, but rather we were going to tie the bags to a fence on the walk route.  We also had a pink ribbon and scotch tape and Carolyn suggested that we string 5 bags together before putting them on the fence.  I thought that it was a good idea and may help with the wind.

The registration opened at 8 am and people had already started coming in.  I told my team to go start recruiting and soon they were getting traffic in, as was I.  There were several families in attendance and I would ask them their team name.  Everyone seemed to be doing this for someone and one girl told me it that was for her Grandma who had recently passed from Colon cancer.  People were decked in pink and wearing all sorts of paraphernalia.  Despite the threat of rain, everyone’s enthusiasm was high. 

The "Luminaria Bags"

I got 3 more volunteers from ‘Target’, Mary, Eddie and Priscilla and I asked Eddie and Priscilla to start stringing the bags together while Mary went for recruiting.  I learned that Mary was in “HR” at ‘Target’ and I told her how much I appreciated their help for the “MLK Celebration of Service” project that ‘Chicago Cares’ runs every year and their overall philosophy towards volunteering.  Xiao Mei has a daughter in high school and she mentioned how she had found this opportunity on “Volunteer Match”.  I told her about some of the other projects that she and her daughter could do together, like “Pet Therapy”. I saw one of my Committee members doing “Scavenger Hunt”, where making “Luminaria” was one of the blocks.  I told her to send over people.  In fact, I even walked over to “Accounting” and told the ladies there to send people over.  Hey, I was trying.

I was chatting with Mary regarding the weather and she said that she would do a “reverse rain dance”.  I said that in case of rain we would move everything to the “Survivor Tent”, similar to what we did for “Walk and Roll”.  Lot of people were coming over and we were busy stringing the bags together.  The walk was starting at 10 am and I said at 9:15 that we should go over to the fence and start tying the bags to the fence.  It was some distance away and would take us a while to get there.  However, since we still had a crowd, I left behind Priscilla and another ‘Target’ volunteer who had joined us – with her 2 kids – and the rest of us left for the fence.

We had to go around ‘Soldier Field’ and it had just started to drizzle when we arrived at our fence.  We started putting the bags on the fence and in some cases it was difficult to tie due to shorter string.  But my team was doing a good job and soon we had the entire fence covered.  I was amazed that the tape was working, though Mary said that we should use stapler and thicker ribbon next year.  However, our main concern now was that the drizzle was getting stronger and bags were getting wet.  We weren’t done with all the bags yet, but I told everyone to call it quits and we started walking back.  We were halfway back when the rain stopped and my team said that we should return to our fence and finish the job.  They said that people had worked hard to make this and we owed it to them.  

Despite the rain, my team did a terrific job

While my team put the remaining bags on another fence perpendicular to the main one, I had to go around the fence to a field in the back and collect all the bags that had come off and were now littering the grounds.  By the time I came back they were completely ruined.  We had done the best we could and came back to our table.  I said that around 11:30 am, we would all go back to remove the bags.  This way majority of the walkers would have seen and appreciated it.  We would of course have to throw all the bags away since they were now wet.  I walked about a bit to see the “Survivor Tent” and some of the other areas.  I saw the lady from two years ago, the one with the “Croatian” shirt.  Just as I came back to the “Information Tent”, the rain arrived, and it was a deluge. 

It was getting torrential and I felt bad for the walkers, most of who were still on the course.  No wonder I had seen some of them running the course, rather than walking.  Carrie told us to call it quits and asked the event to be shut down.  I was watching the radar on the phone and said that it would be fine in 15 minutes and it was.   But all the other tents were coming off, including one which flew away and turned upside down.  Fortunately no one was injured.  As the rain stopped, I went around to look for Mary so that we could take the bags down.  I saw her coming over and she was soaked.  She said that she had already done that and all the bags were thrown away.  Wow, what a lady.  I took Carolyn with me and we walked about the field at the back and picked up the bags which had flown away.  It took time to clean and we were doing our best to avoid the puddles.  Soon we were done and I said bye to Carolyn and left.  My team had done a great job…all of them.  Thus finished another year of me being on the Committee.  Who knows if I will be back next year.

Adler Advisory Council Meeting

Location: Eleven City Diner

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2015; 5:30-7:00 pm

It had been a long time since I had been to one of these, plus I had missed the “Adler After Dark” for this month.  In the interim, the council seemed to have grown to include several volunteers as well as another staff member.  Our email group, being hosted by something called “Minigroup”, was shutting down and there was lot of discussion around how we could find something else.  I arrived to see that Bob and Michael were already there along with 2 other volunteers, and the staff member Jola.  We were missing Carrie who was stuck in traffic and they refused to seat us till everyone was here.  This was ridiculous, but I guess the manager realized the folly and they finally did take us to our table.

We started by discussing which group to use for email and apparently there are 2 candidates.  It’s always amusing to me when most of the meeting is spent on discussing logistics around the meeting, rather than the important topics.  Next on the agenda was a review of the themes for next year and in particular, any ideas that we may have for specific programs.  Never shy for an opinion, I gave my inputs on some of the themes, including ideas for experiments.

"Romulan Ale" anyone?

Michael asked if there was anything other than facilitation that we should be trained on.  I asked what about “sales”, so that we could get repeat business from guests who are in attendance.  Now, I would never describe myself as being a salesperson or even remotely enthusiastic about doing sales.  But, if we could learn some key phrases that could help out, then why not.  We talked about having a “refresher” training program for us and the only day which looked feasible was “Valentine’s Day 2016”.  Sure thing I said.  One of the themes being proposed was on “New Inventions” and I said that it would be cool to do that program with young scientists.  Another theme was to celebrate 50^th anniversary of “Star Trek” and I said that rather than volunteer, I may attend that one – especially if they were serving “Romulan Ale”.  

The owner of the restaurant came over and very nearly threw us out, saying it was a busy time and if we wanted to meet, he could open up the conference room on the top floor for us.  Chalk another one for great customer service at this place, but that did force us to wrap up and leave.  Michael said that the December event would go on till midnight since it was the night new “Star Wars” movie comes out.  Apparently there would be special programming that evening and I totally expect to see several “Storm Troopers” and even “Darth Vader” in attendance.

American Cancer Society Making Strides ELT Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2015; 6:00-7:00 pm

I had missed the previous meeting, which had actually been at ‘Lou Malnati’s’ over some pizza pot pie.  This evening’s meeting was supposed to be our last one prior to the walk and it was to discuss “logistics”, meaning we would probably be working.  We still had over 10 days to ago and in previous years this meeting had been on the week of the walk, so it was good that we were preparing ahead of time.  I arrived to see that some of the usual suspects were there, including Le’Loni and Vikki.  Kathryn and Allyson were busy, handing out some materials to the walk-day participants in the lobby, and so the rest of us moved to the smaller conference room.

The cards we had to assemble

I was told that our task was cutting “volunteer cards” and then stuffing them in plastic lanyards, followed by clipping to something that can be worn around the neck.  I liked that, much easier to manage.  Le’Loni was cutting and I was stuffing in the plastic things and Vicki was clipping them – though she had some difficulty in the beginning, for which we were giving her some good-natured hard time.  After we had been doing it for some time, Kathryn came and said that we shouldn’t be clipping the blue strings for volunteers since they were for staff and volunteers were in fact wearing pink strings.  Poor Vicki now had to take everything out and wasn’t too amused.

We continued this activity while chatting and I said it that seemed more under control than last 2 years, where we appeared to be scrambling at the end.  Plus, we weren’t stuffing bags, which is always tedious.  Le’Loni asked me to keep quite else they would give us that task!  Kathryn came over and started asking people where they wanted to be posted on walk day and some were on “Family Zone”, “pink hair braiding” - Vicki said that last year more adults were involved in this rather than kids.  When Kathryn said where I would like to be on walk day, I said “California”!  She asked if I could do “Luminaria”, and I remembered our experience from last year.  This year they have changed the walk route and it was going to go North around “Museum Campus”.  It meant that the “luminaria” would not be in the tunnels but were going to be tied to a fence on the route.  I agreed to do that and joked that Katie had quit the committee because of that – maybe it was the truth.  However, having done the tribute wall for “Walk and Roll”, I knew how important and enriching this activity is. 

Some of the other things that would be going on were “Scavenger Hunt”, where instead of answering questions, people would just need to “check-in” with a volunteer.  The prize was a “$0.10 off gas” card from ‘BP’.  It was around 7 pm and we were done with the stuffing.  Some of our teammates were collecting wrist bands for their teams - or drink coupons as I called them - and then we left.  This may be the last time I come to this office since I may not do it next year.  But I do like our team and we were already planning a committee get-together in November, after this is all done.

Bingo Fun At Britton Budd…and Lakeview Nursing

Location: Britton/Budd Apartments & Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, October 12, 2015; 6:30 -8:30 pm

This would have helped

Chicago cares wanted me to lead “Job Coaching at ODS” project, but I turned them down since I wanted to come here.  I was late than usual in getting here and arrived just before the start.  I was looking forward to seeing my buddy Elvina but she was absent this evening.  I looked at the prizes selection for today and Veronica had done a great job, as is usually the case each time.  Besides the usual things, we had earphones and an apple shaped green cutting board, as well as a purple tote bag.  I joined 2 ladies who were happy to welcome me to their table.  Very soon I realized that one of those was the lady who translates every number into Spanish.  The gentleman for whom she does this was sitting behind me and was repeating the numbers.  When he won and started repeating the numbers in Spanish, the lady at my table said that he usually knows enough English when it suits his purpose!

Needless to say, as the game progressed I wasn't doing so well on my board.  The ladies at my table were struggling as well.  So when Veronica asked if anyone wanted to call the game, I volunteered and the ladies immediately said that I may change the luck – not sure if they meant by my leaving or calling!  I started calling and I usually try to include the people in this activity. For example, when a gentleman got a call, his ringtone was musical and I said that we should leave it on.  He told the caller to call back in 20 minutes and I said that we would still be playing in 20; else we could hurry so that the gentleman can take his call.  Later on when the lady who translates got a call, I told her to tell them that it would be 20 minutes as well! 

The balls over here are tiny and I dropped them a few times and had to run after them.  When some of the residents would ask for a specific number, I would say "coming right up".  One of the volunteers was the only person who hadn't won and she said that she desperately wanted to yell "Bingo".  I said that if she didn't win till the end, she should just sing the “Bingo song”. However, she did get her chance when one prize was remaining and everyone applauded…only to learn that she was kidding.  The gentleman who required translation was in good voice and yelled out loudly when he won.  He picked up a bottle calling it shampoo and Veronica corrected him by pointing out that it was body wash.  I said that we should double-check to make sure it wasn't dish washing detergent instead.  Yeah, I was on a roll this evening.  I was commenting on the prizes, saying that no one was picking the cute purple tote bag.  Soon thereafter one lady picked it up and I said, “Good choice”.  The great thing about this place is that everyone wins and people really like each other.  Soon the last prize - earphones - was picked and we were done.

I stopped at Lakeview Nursing on my way back and saw that Bingo was on.  I said hi to Jim and Jack and saw that Jack had picked up the “Peanut Butter Cookies” for his lady friend.  Jim, as usual, was scowling at Kenny and at the fact that his hated ‘Cubs’ were winning.  Emma looked like she was asleep and after the game I went to say hello.  The volunteer with her said that she had won a pair of socks, at which Emma said, “Socks are good”.  The volunteer was telling me about her pets and told Emma a funny story about how her cat drinks from the fish bowl.  I said the cat is just trying to get lucky, at which Emma laughed.  The Volunteer leader came over to give Emma some cookies at the end and she held on to them tightly.  I took Emma upstairs to her room - after she said that it would be nice - and Jack also got off at 2^nd floor to go meet his lady friend.  Talk about getting lucky! 

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

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, October 05, 2015; 6:00-7:45 pm

I arrived early to see that Charta was already there, as well as a new enthusiastic volunteer who had just moved here as an “Americorp fellow”.  A new dog came in and Charta got all excited to see him, though in reality she was just trying to be friendly.  I went over to say hello to Emma and she was looking cute with a red sweatshirt and matching red nail paint.  She was talking about some tablecloth that was missing from the table while organizing her Bingo chips by color.  Somehow the conversation turned to sweet foods and we talked about jelly and pies and cookies, a topic that she is always keen on.  It seems like she is particularly fond of strawberry though she also talked about other fruits like orange, blueberry, blackberry and banana, but kept coming back to strawberry.  She looked really happy as she talked about this, smiling all the time.  She mentioned something about whipped cream and I said let’s make it a strawberry milkshake.  I asked what about chocolate chip cookies and her face lit up.  She said "chocolate is nice" and I re-plied, "Amen to that"!

This cutie is a boy!

Maureen, who was leading Bingo, said that she had some cancellations and I was welcome to stay. But we had 5 dogs now so I would probably be needed over there.  I left Emma with a volunteer and said that I would be back to pick her up, joining my group in the hallway.  Before I left, I heard Kenny say that there were a lot of guest stars coming up on “Hawaii 5-0” and I looked at Jim who was growling.  I saw that one of the pups was a little creature whose hair was dyed in pink -and he was a boy!!  Everyone immediately took a liking to him and he was friendly as well.  Fran, who was leading paired everyone and I was with Charta's new friend, and whose owner reminded me that we had indeed walked together before.  I then remembered that it was my old pal Alvie.

We started on the 2^nd floor and stopped over to see David, who is always in a good mood.  Every time you ask how he is, his answer is "fantastic".  We discussed his photography, especially some pictures of the ocean, and he said that he loves living near the water.  He also mentioned that he was leaving this place in a week.  Whether this is true or not, I wished him well.  Next, we stopped at the lady with the pearls and she was looking sharp as ever.  Her roommate was lying down and was looking at Alvie from the other side of room, smiling as she did so.  We stayed for a bit and then continued, though we weren’t having much luck today.  We saw the usual gentleman who hangs around in the corridors and he was waiting to go in his room since his roommate had a lot of visitors.  I told him that he should go inside whenever he wanted and “reclaim his room”. 

We went over to Polly’s room, but she wasn’t there and Odelia mentioned that she was outside somewhere.  I asked Odelia why she wasn’t downstairs playing Bingo and she said she had the allergies.  We went over to see Loritta, but her roommate was getting changed and so we couldn’t stay.  That was it for 2^nd floor and so we moved upstairs.  We went to see Linda, but she was on the phone, though as is always certain, there was an open book next to her.  We chatted with another lady in her room who loves dogs and then moved on.  Jerry was getting his treatment and Charta was in Hannah’s room, meaning there was no place for us to go. We came down to 1^st and walked around, but did not see anyone and so were done in record time at 7:15 pm.

Since there was no one else to visit, Alvie left and I went back upstairs to Hannah’s room, where Fran was present.  Hannah had not yet heard from her lawyers and said that “No news is good news”, though I am not sure that’s accurate.  She said that she was hoping that this meant that they were still reviewing.  She was a bit down on herself, saying that she came here on her two legs and was now leaving as a “cripple”.  She said that it wasn’t the fault of people who worked here since they were “under paid and over worked”.  I said that the fact that she could understand and say it, meant she was still sharp.  She herself said that she could be “eccentric but not crazy”.  I came back down and learned that Emma had won 3 games.  I said she should be careful where she spent her fortune, which was all of $3.  As I took her upstairs, she talked about her daughter visiting and how she hadn’t had dinner.  As I dropped her off, I said perhaps she could have a “Strawberry Milkshake” with her daughter.  She had certainly earned it.

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

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015; 5:45-8:30 pm

Since I couldn’t go on the 1^st Wednesday for this month and the next, I had asked Marianne if I could come some other week and she had requested this one.  I arrived to see that there were more volunteers than 2 weeks ago, but there was no sign of Marianne.  I had bought my new apron and wore it instead of the flimsy plastic one.  I asked the Chef if he needed any help, but it looked like he had enough people.  So I went outside and helped with the distribution of plastic cutlery instead.  Looks like the dishwasher was still broken

Tonight's Menu

Marianne arrived and after greetings, she immediately allocated duties. She asked me to stack the trolleys with trays and for this task I was being helped by another volunteer.  We were done soon, and then it was a lot of waiting around.  The menu was rice, “creole chicken with sauce”, “creamed spinach” and “apple strudel”.  Marianne said that she didn’t like apples and I said me too, unless they were in a cider!  Marianne talked about her grandchildren in Pittsburgh, and it was the first that I had heard about her being from my old hometown.  She said that she loved them the most and I said that grandparents always view grandchildren as being a way of correcting their mistakes with their kids.  I chatted with Chef Dan and his wife Kathy.  They are both nurses, do catering on the side and are grandparents.  I also learnt that the chef was a son of German immigrants; explaining the presence of “apple strudel” on the menu.

The room outside was quite full and Marianne said that she was glad that all of us had shown up, considering that she had forgotten that there was a 5^th Wednesday this month.  There was one new volunteer, and so Marianne did her speech, and then we prayed.  I was on plating as usual, but before that we had to fill up the big orange colored juice container.  After filling it to the brim with ice, I took it outside and filled it up with bottles of grape juice.  We took our positions and some of the volunteers served the salad bowls, as Marianne made her announcements.  Although we had lot of guests, I couldn’t see my usual friend.  One lady did come and chatted with me, asking where I was from and then inquiring about the menu.  I said that we should look at it together and so we walked to the front of the room where the menu was posted.  A gentleman who was with her shook my hand and introduced himself.  New friends already!

The food was brought out and I was on the “apple strudel”.  Initially we were going to plate it in a bowl, but there was room on the plate and so I just put it there.  We were soon out of the initial 75 plates and 10 additional ones.  Plus we were going through a lot of the food and were soon down to our last trays.  I knew there wouldn’t be enough for seconds.  Sure enough, only chicken and sauce were remaining and we were now rationing portions.  It was sad to tell our guests that we were out of food, especially since earlier we had to tell them there was no coffee since we had not brewed. 

Soon the food was over and some people who had been with the nurse had to be turned back.  Marianne was looking sad but there was nothing that we could have done.  The chef was looking sad as well and he said that he would get proper measuring spoons for serving, since there was a lot of “creep” in our serving i.e. uneven portions.  I stacked chairs and pushed away tables and then bid Marianne farewell.  I said that I couldn't come next week, but would be back the following month.

Boston Marathon – Jimmy Fund Walk

Location: Hopkinton Center School To Copley Plaza, Boston

Date: Sunday, September 27, 2015; 6:15 am-4:45 pm

Last year, as soon as I had finished my walk, I had said that I am never doing it again.  Well, in spring of this year my friend Som had said that he would do it with me this year if I signed up, and so here I was again.  I had requested donations to raise the minimum $300 and thanks to a last minute push by my buddies, I crossed that threshold easily.  I had gone to Newport, RI as a part of my “51/51” and one of my buddies picked me up at Providence airport after my short visit there.  I arrived at his house in Holliston on Saturday late afternoon, his place being just a few miles away from the start line. 

Ready to start

After a fun evening with my friends, I turned in and woke up at 4:45 am.  One of the more difficult things on this walk is to evaluate is how to dress, since it usually starts off cold and heats up as the day goes on.  Som and I were dropped off at ‘Hopkinton Middle School’ and were then taken by a shuttle to ‘Hopkinton Center School’, which was the start line.  There were a lot of people on the bus and not only did they look good-natured and friendly, but they had done this several times over.  Plus, we saw many teams their own shirts and they were in good spirits as well.  We got off and before entering the main hall to collect our t-shirts, I saw someone handing off a drawstring bag.  I mentioned that anything we pick-up, we have to carry with us, drawing big laughter from a guy nearby.  The festivities were on in the hall, with a guy on microphone encouraging everyone and other things that one usually sees at the start.  I picked up my ‘Jimmy Fund’ cap and my shirt, and after the usual struggles with getting the bib on with pins, I wrote a name and then put the “I walk in honor of” sticker behind my bib.  I was ready to go.

It wasn't even daybreak yet

My and buddy went to the start line and after a few pictures, set off at 6:15 am, the same time as last year.  It was cold and I was thankful for having a jacket and track pants.  My buddy was in shorts and was feeling the chill.  A temperature check told us it was 36 and yeah, that is nippy.  As we walked down ‘Route 135’, unlike last year, I was not listening to anything and so could hear people chatting around us.  For example, there was a group of ladies who was talking about everything under the sun ranging from kids to "Mergers & Acquisitions".  They breezed past us and I mentioned to my buddy that they would probably talk non-top all the way to Boston.  We covered the initial couple of miles and went past the first “refueling station” easily – stopping to high-five a group of enthusiastic kids who put stickers on our bibs.  My buddy’s hand was freezing and was swelling up, though once the sun came out he felt better.

My supporter from last year

We were going past the mile markers and as last year there were stories of kids on it.  It was inspirational and as my friend said later, no matter what pain we would go through, their journey was worst.  I saw some familiar sights from last year, including the guy with the 3-legged 'Golden Retriever'.  The poor dog looked tired and was sleeping.  I told the guy that I remembered them from last year and took the pup’s picture.  A couple of girls near us asked the guy if he taught in a college and when he said that he did, they said that they remembered him from their time there.  A lot of people had come out to cheer for us and besides the normal stations; some folks had their own snacks and drinks stands.

The miles kept rolling by and we were chatting to pass the time.  Once the sun came out around "Mile 8", I took off my jacket since it was warming up.  ‘Route 135’ kept going and soon we got to “Natick Town Center”, which has one of the bigger refreshment stations.  We took a brief halt there so that my buddy could change his socks and then we were on our way.  We walked through some other towns, always with people cheering, and eventually passed the halfway mark.  Som’s wife Resh was doing the half marathon and she had set off from here hours before.  In fact, her pace was excellent and certainly faster than us.

The Miles kept rolling by

We were receiving constant texts of encouragement from our friends and we were sending pictures back.  We turned on to ‘Washington Avenue’ and stopped for lunch at "Mile 16", the same big tent as last year.  I told my buddy that it would be a tough stretch from now on and no kidding.  This short stop for lunch had stiffened our muscles and now I was laboring, feeling a slight cramp on my soles.  We were now listening to music - or audio book in my case - and so were walking a few yards apart, with Som leading.  ‘Commonwealth Avenue’ was brutal for me and we also had traffic lights to deal with, though there were some cops helping us out by regulating traffic.  There was an obnoxious guy who was riding a bike around us in support of his friend and was quite a nuisance.  We went up the “Heartbreak Hill” – with a few breaks – and it was tough.  But eventually we turned to see ‘Boston College’ and now it was the final 5 mile stretch.

Resh had reached hours before us – breezing through her half marathon.  We set off on ‘Beacon Street’ and now we were on the streets of Boston downtown.  We even helped a few ‘Boston College’ girls with their grocery bag adjustments, since one looked like she was about to drop them.  The mile markers were now like an oasis and my buddy who had done 18 miles before as practice, was realizing that the last 8 miles are not that easy.  He was also following his progress on a “Fitbit” watch, though it lost power at "Mile 21".  At "Mile 24" refueling station we saw a truck with two TVs showing ‘Patriots’ game and so we stopped to watch a drive and then set off again.  We came to "Mile 25" under the famous ‘CITGO’ sign outside 'Fenway Park'  and it was right during the end of a ‘Red Sox’ game and so several fans were now on the same path as us. 

It took a long time, but we finished

We navigated the foot traffic on ‘Beacon Street’ till we saw a sign saying "25.6 Miles". The last mile felt like 2 - and I think it was more than a mile - as we kept expecting to see the “Finish” sign around every corner.  Finally, after 10.5 hours – one more than last year – we finished together, with our other buddies applauding. One of our friend's little girl gave us our medals and then we took pictures before sitting down to reflect.  It had been a great achievement but as Som said, nothing compared to what the patients and caregivers at ‘Dana Farber Jimmy Fund’ go through every day. Will I do it again next year?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, September 21, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm

Roses for M'lady

Last week when I was here, I had promised Emma that I would get her flowers and so I stopped to buy some Red Roses before the project.  She was in the Bingo room and as I gave them to her, she said "Oh they're nice".  She was trying to poke into the bouquet's interior, but I told her to keep them aside till she went back to her room.  I went back to where the pets were assembled and saw that Robyn was there with Bruce and June.  Charta was also present, along with a cute girl pup who looked happy to be here.  Also in attendance was a beautiful kitty called Oona.  As the dogs went to get treats from folks in the Bingo room, Robyn asked if I could look after June tonight – without Robyn walking with us.  I said that as long as June was willing, I would be delighted to do so. 

I was paired with another volunteer Lisa, and the 3 of us set off to go to the 2^nd floor.  Right away it was apparent that June wasn't too happy to be separated from Bruce and was dragging, so much so that I had to carry her.  A gentleman in the corridor who loves dogs put June on his lap and asked the usual questions like how old etc.  We stopped to see another lady and when I asked if she wanted to pet June, she asked if the dogs were for sale!  I said no, though she loved visiting with June anyways. She told us that she owned 2 dogs who were pure bred and worth $1000 each.  She said that they were really tiny and extremely well behaved.

Oona

Next, we went to see Loritta and as usual I jokingly asked, "What's new?" She said something under her breath and it very much sounded like a curse.  But Loritta is always in great spirits and I told Lisa about her son.  Loritta stepped in to say how he had gone down south chasing, well, “pussy” – her word, not mine!  I knew from last week that he was visiting Chicago and so asked if he had come to see her. She said no, he was busy with friends.  As if speaking of the devil, her son came in and I found him to be a pleasant guy. I said that I had heard a lot about him and he laughed, thanking us for coming as we left.

June was whining and dragging me out of the room, and for good reason since Bruce and Robyn were in the corridor.  Looking at her, we decided to continue together.  We went over to see David and put June on his bed so that he could go to work on her.  She looked pleased as a punch and was smiling as she got a good rubdown.  David seemed in a bright mood and said that it had been his birthday a couple of days ago.  He even showed us flowers from a lady friend.  As we left him, Robyn mentioned that he was more coherent than before and how he had come here to recover from a severe head and brain trauma from a motorcycle accident 5 years ago. 

Next stop was with Jerry, and both Bruce and June were taking turns at getting treats, though in a well behaved manner.  Bruce’s hearing is really good, compensating for his lack of sight, and he was grabbing treats from Jerry’s hand quite easily.  We then went to see Hannah and she said that there was no news from her lawyer.  She was in good spirits though and told the new volunteers about her book, Johnny B, her modelling career as an extra – telling us to register with her talent agency.  Robyn asked about her exercise routine and she said she was doing it diligently.  Before leaving I told her about my travels and she said she loved travelling when she was young, living in Hollywood.  She said that she was even spotted by Howard Hughes before her mother made her move back!

Final stop was to see Polly and she was as chatty as ever.  I said that I had stopped by last week but she was in the bathroom.  She said that moving forward she would never be in bathroom during this time.  We chatted for some more time and then it was time to leave.  I had not been able to see Linda and discuss books, but had a good visit nevertheless.  I pitched some other Chicago Cares programs to Lisa and after she had left, Robyn told me that June had been diagnosed with cancer today and would need surgery soon.  I said that I hoped she recovered soon because that’s the last thing June and Bruce need at this stage.

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