Lovely day so far. I met my friend, L for breakfast. We have been friends since we were 12 years old. When you are friends with someone that long, it's hard to hide one's crap. She can smell my crap, a mile a way, so to speak. Nice to be with someone who can do that, you know? And, nice not to feel like I have to hide my crap, again, so to speak.
We caught up on one another's trials of raising teenagers, caring for aging parents, and exploring our life journeys of trying to figure out what the heck we are doing as we stare at the big old '5 - 0' in a few years.
And, we figured out two very important things this morning over syrupy waffles and good oj:
Justice is in short supply. And, because we grew up in inner city Topeka, with poverty in and around us, we 'get it'. I shared with L about a recent conversation with someone, in the helping profession no less, who explained that if someone were to find themselves homeless, well, then, maybe that is where they belonged.....
Screw that.
No, let me say that again: SCREW THAT. But, thank goodness for this person making this statement to me. It reminds me of why I love what I am studying to do and trying to do, a day at a time.
Went on over to Goodwill Stores, Inc. Listened to Goodwill Stores Radio, that was playing on the speakers. Glanced at the slick brochures positioned at the register while I perused the shelves and shelves of coffee cups. Coffee cups with logos from banks, churches, civic groups, hotels. And then, I looked at the people shopping in Goodwill: a young woman with her toddler, looking through racks and racks of overpriced used clothes. A man trying to find a good pair of crutches. In the background, shelves and shelves of .99 coffee cups. Hmmmm.. a disconnect here somewhere.
What the hell?
I remember a few years ago when I was in the midst of rummage sale hell, where I would organize a huge rummage sale once a year for the nonprofit I directed. We would get boxes and boxes and boxes of coffee cups. My god. And, when the sale would be over, and once the last shoppers would shuffle out the door, and we'd box up the REAL crap that was left, there those coffee cups would be, waiting to be boxed up, again, and hauled to Goodwill.
The last year that I worked there, I couldn't take it. So, one of the volunteers and I collected all of the glassware that was left that had no real value (read: coffee cups) and took them to be recycled. It was a gratifying experience, smashing coffee cups in the huge bin at the recycling center.
I was thinking about how the coffee cups at Goodwill that are marked .99 will sit there for years. I know this because I like to go to Goodwill and look at stuff. But, they won't leave those shelves, and that Goodwill radio will continue to blare.
Goodwill radio? What the hell? Why not grab one of the albums that has been donated and play that on a turntable? Much more interesting. I will say that Goodwill Radio DID play 'Working on the Chain Gang' by Sam Cooke. And, the mom looking at clothes whistled, and some chick looking at t-shirts and I hummed along with Sam.
I don't know where I am going with this, except to say that if I follow my gut instinct, then I know that I belong in places like the Central Park area of Topeka, or, the Lawrence Open Shelter, or, Just Food, here in Lawrence, or Headquarters.
Oh, and the second thing we decided:
Anthony Bourdain is a particularly attractive, delightful, yummy kind o' man. And, L. made me snort I laughed so hard describing Anthony Bourdain eating a roasted anus or something of that sort in Namibia.
Thank you, L. for reminding me where I belong.
