Better than no one. . . .

July 18, 2024

I’m most of the way through a program to help folks “needing a place to stay,” as I like to put it.  Great friendships are made.  Beautiful (beyond all belief!) children, gap toothed, smiling, wanting to get into trouble.  Let’s see. 

Unhoused families sign up for a program, “Family Promise,” in which they live for a week at a time at 8 or 9 churches. P. and I are responsible when the families come to First Congregational Church. Tonight we had four family units:  we had Nate and his daughter Fawn.  We had Freddy and Jessica and their daughters Taylin and McKinsey.  We had Alissa and Savanna and their daughter Athena. Actually, Alissa is Athena’s mom.  The fourth family consisted of Donnie and his daughter Serene.  

They all are great friendlies. 

Food was very good this week, facilitating pushing back the chair and conversing, all around.  Nobody was in any hurry.  It was so damn hot!  Even in the church basement where they are staying this week.  At least 80 degrees or more.  Like I said, food was good.  Tonight we had chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy.  Also cheesecake and coleslaw. 

Bearded guy named Steve brought the food.  He cooked the chicken himself.  I’m not sure about the other stuff.  Doesn’t matter.  It was all delicious and we visited until I had to leave to attend a NOVA meeting.  Turns out it was a zoom meeting, so I went home to participate.  Bought two boxes of Grape Nuts at Albertson’s on the way. Tomorrow’s breakfast.

Soon P. phoned me.  Alissa was in acute dental pain and needed to visit the emergency room doctor.  Therefore, P. asked me to bring her our car so she’d be able to shuttle people around tonight if the situation gets bad.

I bought a subscription to Ancestry dot com today.  Went nuts looking up old friends and new.  It was all good.  I wanted to find out about my great- great-grandmother, who immigrated from Norway with my grandpa’s dad.  At this point I have the home town and names of Berit Bonde’s parents.  I haven’t studied them yet. I’m thinking that since I quit Facebook I’ve been missing lots of people I communicated with.