A large breakfast this morning, taking up both picnic tables. The day promises to be the first really hot one of the summer, with 95 degree temperature predicted. I could feel that insufferable heat beginning to build on my back as I walked over to Whole Foods after MP to get some cereal and juice.
G, who used to stay on the Hill, but who has found steady job at Arby’s and a decent room to stay in across town, came by early on his way to work for a bite to eat. (“The Hill” is what everybody calls the back parking lot at the church where everybody hangs out or sleeps. I guess specifically it refers to the sloped bank of the property that runs down west to the shops below, but I think any part of the grounds can be so called.) G was in particularly good spirits. He loves Sammie and talked to her as he helped us carry the breakfast supplies out into the courtyard. As we settled in we shook hands with a young newcomer who had stopped in recently. “Welcome to the Hill”, G said.
In no time there were 6 or 8 of us sitting around the table. Of course we went through the OJ immediately and had to switch to water. I told one guy that I had finally gotten my hands upon the clothing and boots that I “owed” him (he had stored some things in the church and someone else had taken them). I told them this time I’d keep them locked up tight in the Vicar’s office until he wanted to use them. Without places to shower or wash clothes, new, or at least clean used clothes from the Salvation Army or wherever, are one way to keep up some semblance of hygiene.
Everybody wondered where C was, and most of them know that he stays with me and so they asked me if I had any idea. I had to suppose he was still sleeping in his room and I hadn’t noticed. Yesterday I was tiptoeing around the house all afternoon thinking that he was taking an extended nap, only to find him sitting up on the Hill when I came to EP. “I thought you were in that room,” I said. He just laughed. I smiled joyfully.
Most of us finishing up our cereal and cheese grits that we get donated from a couple ladies at Blacknall Presbyterian, I started clearing things off and back into the Parish Hall. Most people helped, rinsing off dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Afterward JR stood outside with one of the regulars talking about life. He’ll confide things to JR I don’t think anyone else knows, and JR will gently nudge him towards the path of wisdom. T, our Parish hall live-in sexton, always does an amazing job of keeping things in there spic and span, and humbly does any dishes that are left. These are the small works of mercy that constitute sanctity.
--Colin
