Harmonica Man

This week I arrived at the Opp Center and immediately got the news from George that Jesse will no longer be working in the kitchen. Unlike the last time where I heard a staff member had gone to jail, this time it was good news... Jesse had gotten a permanent job with the Church as a painter ("buildings, not pictures" was Gina's comment). I felt happy for the guy but was a little sad that he wouldn't be around anymore. It also meant more work for me during my shift, which I hoped I could step into.

George and I did a full cleaning job of the kitchen. We closed the doors after kicking everyone out (which was hard to do since people cling to the place and often spend the whole day there, like a cafe). Once they were out George mopped while I cleaned all the counter and table tops. It was pretty hard work, and by the end of it I was tired.

After that I just hung around the kitchen serving black rice/spanish rice/pasta plates and also chatting with people in the courtyard. I ran into one guy named Bob. I'd never met him before, but he seemed like a very nice guy, one of those mannered and together people who you wonder how in the world they were homeless. As I was serving Bob a plate, he mentioned that he wanted help looking up a video on youtube, which I told him I'd do. We went into the computer lab and he handed me a card with a youtube video URL. I typed it up but unfortunately the flash plugin wasn't installed on the lab machine, and since you can't download anything on these machines, we were out of luck. This was my first encounter with the restrictiveness of the lab machines. A lot of the clients have been complaining about being blocked from a lot of content. I understand why they do this, but youtube? These people aren't reading slashdot, they just want to check email and be entertained. It brings to mind a message on the bulletin board I had seen some previous time I was in the lab, which said something like "Are you upset/frustrated with the restrictions on these computers? Then call this number to join a petition to allow for your rights to all parts of the web". Doesn't seem so bad of an idea anymore.

So unfortunately Bob couldn't watch the video. It turned out that it was a video someone had taken of Bob, who was a blues musician. Bob plays harmonica outside some restaurants in the area as a regular gig, and he wanted to check out a performance someone had recorded of him. I wanted him to see it as well... you could tell it was a source of pride for him. And the caption for the video said "...Just close your eyes, turn up the volume, and listen to some of the best New Orleans blues harmonica alive". I was very impressed and told Bob I was going to watch it as soon as I got home. I also told him I'd print out some copies of the URL which he could hand out on strips of paper to promote himself, which I'll bring to him next week. He smiled and thanked me 5 times.

Food And More Food

When the Opp Center is busy, as it usually is on weekday mornings, there is almost non-stop action. All kinds of stuff is going on... the kitchen is buzzing as people saunter to the counter for food and plates are being warmed up in the oven and microwaves, the lounge and computer lab are full of web surfers, the courtyard is littered with groups of homeless people chatting, sitting around in the sun, etc. As I make rounds around the center, I say hello to the people, chat here and there with those who are up for it. Many of the clients know recognize me; though they don't know my name I got a lot of "hey there you are! Haven't seen you in a while around here!" comments, which feels nice. I like feeling a part of this place, and the people knowing me has a lot to do with that.

That also is true with the staff. Besides Gina, I'm now also pretty comfortable with George and Jesse. Although sometimes I have to swallow my pride and do menial undesirable tasks at the request of George and/or Jesse, overall we get along fine and I believe I have their respect.

A elderly lady, Ellen, was at the center today as a morning volunteer (on her way out as we got there). Ellen is sort of a fish out of water, a suburbanite Jewish elderly lady serving food and fraternizing with rough-edged homeless people. You can sense athe gulf when she interacts with people. Anyway, Ellen gets to talking to me about her story: she's a Holocaust "survivor" and her family escaped Nazi Germany when she was 4 years old. In reality, she never really saw much because her family "ran early" and avoided the struggles of many other Jews in Germany during that time. She framed her experience as a Holocaust survivor as a a bridge by which she relates to the people who come to the Opp Center. I thought it was a little naive, especially since she had basically avoided real trauma and instead had an immigrant experience. She brought up her experience frequently, saying how she understands discrimination, etc.

I worked in the kitchen for a while, making laundry soap bags, and handing out food. We had some hot food: fish fillet, pasta, and chicken wontons. Good stuff. Then some Stanford students came out with a bunch of sandwiches, chips, veggies, and a big tub of orange juice. So right after a lot of the clients (mostly the males) had just feasted on fish, then got right back in line for ham and turkey sandwiches. When I mentioned this to Jesse, he just looked at me and shook his head...

I had a run-in with one of the clients, Anthony. I was behind the kitchen counter and he had some food on a plate. He picked off the food and slid the plate to me a sort of rude way, and told me to throw it away. I told him he should do it himself, but he just walked away. Later on, I asked him why he walked away and he said, "Do you know who I am? I'm Anthony. Don't talk to me like I'm a child." I just told him I meant no offense. I am happy to serve him; in fact, that's why I come to the Opp Center, to help him and others out. But I will not accept disrespect silently. That's the message I hope to somehow get to Anthony in the future.

Another female client, who I call "diva" saw me and said "Hello Prince!" Diva is homeless but tries to dress stylish and walks around with a phone headset in her ear. She calls me Prince for some reason, and took me to meet another volunteer lady, who seemed sort of confused about why we were being introduced. I was confused to, but I think Diva just wanted me to meet this volunteer because she was brown, like me. A Opp Center love connection.

Diamond, another client with a perfectly shaped afro and who wears a bunch of jewelery around his neck and hands, was chatting it up with me. He and Jesse often talk about this or that sermon that they heard in Church. It's fun watching them, they get really animated about the sermons. Whenever I ask Diamond how he's doing, he says "I'm blessed".