agnut
14th October 2013, 11:11 AM
It is Sunday, a day my son and I regularly pick up boxes of outdated fruits and vegetables out back of the local supermarket. Normally we take it home to call folks we know to come by and pick up what they need and later feed our cows and chickens with the rest but this was the first time I had heard that the nonprofit thrift store was going to be open Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00. You see, we always stop there with our fruits and veggies on Wednesday and Saturday, our other market pickup days.
Just yesterday we were at the thrift store dropping off fruits and veggies and a young lady I had never seen before came out back picking up some. Her eyes sparkled when she asked if we got grapes and I told her that we often got grapes, sometimes loads of grapes. I started to tell her that it was a good idea to take the grapes off the vines, wash them and freeze them for a treat while watching TV (I tell everybody that so that they will take some grapes home).
Today started out like any other day until we arrived at the back dock of the thrift store and this young lady volunteer (that’s right, they get paid from the heart) came out and said that she claimed all the grapes ! Everybody laughed out loud and got back to filling their bags. This was funny on another level because we have been delivering produce there for a couple of years and nobody gets excited about seeing yet another box of grapes.
Well, this young lady was serious and did end up with quite a lot of grapes. And no arguments there. In the past I named one young lady at the thrift store “strawberry Lisa” and the receiving manager “banana Bob“. So I guess I will have to name this newbie too. How about grapenuts ?
A few minutes before we were to depart she asked if we could stop at her home to drop some more produce off. She said that she couldn’t carry much home because she was on foot. No bike, no car. She must be around 15 or 16, an extraordinarily beautiful tall young lady. But there was something more; she carried herself with grace and a sense of inner joy that is hard to describe. I have just never seen it in such a young person. I said that we would be happy to take her home.
So we loaded up all the boxes of produce from the thrift store’s loading dock and proceeded to her home. She said that her mother would be surprised. Little did I know.
When we got there I had a hard time backing in the driveway; almost hit the house. You see, I have no depth perception and have to be careful in backing up. There was no car in the oh so long driveway either, something I found curious.
The young lady went inside and beckoned her mother to come out; she had a surprise for her. The mother was a small lady; reminded me of my grandmother. When she first saw all the boxes of produce she didn’t know what to think. She just stood there, unconsciously waiting for someone else to say something. At least that is the way it appeared. I told her to help herself to whatever she needed; we got it for free. She took what seemed a long time in processing this unexpected news and then opened up and said that she could use just about everything ! We loaded up some boxes and her children carried them inside; some of the boxes weighed up to 40 pounds. I told her that she could get more every week.
This mother told me that she does a lot of canning and enthusiastically offered to teach this to my son and me. She also recognizes all kinds of produce and knows what to do with them. A down home country mama.
Afterwards I spoke to this mother. She had raised 4 children of her own and then adopted 8 children ! I was shocked and speechless, contemplating the enormity and dedication of such an undertaking. Some of the children were a bit reticent since apparently they didn’t yet realize what was transpiring; I think that the understanding would settle in later as family set about processing all this free produce. A happy time indeed. By the way I would soon discover another reason for their reticence.
I had told her that she was welcome to come down to the thrift store and pick up what she wanted. But she said that she had no car and her children would have to take their bicycles to carry the produce home. A woman with 8 children and no car in the driveway? It made no sense until she said that she had had a long van that could transport her and all the children but someone had come by the house and shot out all the van’s windows . She said that it was too expensive to replace the windows and that is why she had no transportation. She also said that someone had burned down her storage shed behind the house. And that someone had badly beat up one of her sons. I felt as though I had been punched in the gut. This happening in my own community ? I could see the fear in her body language; not a fear for herself but a fear for her children and their future. She said that she had moved here in the belief that her family wouldn’t be treated this way but came to discover that it was not a safe haven after all.
This has been a happy home with lots of love and joy. But something lurks on the periphery. Something dark and evil.
At this point you, the reader, may wonder just what is going on here. This is because until now, you see no more than a blind man.
A blind man cannot see colors or even black and white. The 8 adopted children of this white mother, lets call her Saint Mary, are of different races. And therefore different colors.
America will never be a true melting pot in peace and harmony until we learn in our hearts that we are all created equal in God’s eyes. And that we are all unique and all miracles.
So the next time you see someone with their hands full in doing good in this world, lend them a hand. Your hand. And I can guarantee that a spiritual alchemy will take place wherein a most precious mettle is created.
Best wishes,
Agnut
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Just yesterday we were at the thrift store dropping off fruits and veggies and a young lady I had never seen before came out back picking up some. Her eyes sparkled when she asked if we got grapes and I told her that we often got grapes, sometimes loads of grapes. I started to tell her that it was a good idea to take the grapes off the vines, wash them and freeze them for a treat while watching TV (I tell everybody that so that they will take some grapes home).
Today started out like any other day until we arrived at the back dock of the thrift store and this young lady volunteer (that’s right, they get paid from the heart) came out and said that she claimed all the grapes ! Everybody laughed out loud and got back to filling their bags. This was funny on another level because we have been delivering produce there for a couple of years and nobody gets excited about seeing yet another box of grapes.
Well, this young lady was serious and did end up with quite a lot of grapes. And no arguments there. In the past I named one young lady at the thrift store “strawberry Lisa” and the receiving manager “banana Bob“. So I guess I will have to name this newbie too. How about grapenuts ?
A few minutes before we were to depart she asked if we could stop at her home to drop some more produce off. She said that she couldn’t carry much home because she was on foot. No bike, no car. She must be around 15 or 16, an extraordinarily beautiful tall young lady. But there was something more; she carried herself with grace and a sense of inner joy that is hard to describe. I have just never seen it in such a young person. I said that we would be happy to take her home.
So we loaded up all the boxes of produce from the thrift store’s loading dock and proceeded to her home. She said that her mother would be surprised. Little did I know.
When we got there I had a hard time backing in the driveway; almost hit the house. You see, I have no depth perception and have to be careful in backing up. There was no car in the oh so long driveway either, something I found curious.
The young lady went inside and beckoned her mother to come out; she had a surprise for her. The mother was a small lady; reminded me of my grandmother. When she first saw all the boxes of produce she didn’t know what to think. She just stood there, unconsciously waiting for someone else to say something. At least that is the way it appeared. I told her to help herself to whatever she needed; we got it for free. She took what seemed a long time in processing this unexpected news and then opened up and said that she could use just about everything ! We loaded up some boxes and her children carried them inside; some of the boxes weighed up to 40 pounds. I told her that she could get more every week.
This mother told me that she does a lot of canning and enthusiastically offered to teach this to my son and me. She also recognizes all kinds of produce and knows what to do with them. A down home country mama.
Afterwards I spoke to this mother. She had raised 4 children of her own and then adopted 8 children ! I was shocked and speechless, contemplating the enormity and dedication of such an undertaking. Some of the children were a bit reticent since apparently they didn’t yet realize what was transpiring; I think that the understanding would settle in later as family set about processing all this free produce. A happy time indeed. By the way I would soon discover another reason for their reticence.
I had told her that she was welcome to come down to the thrift store and pick up what she wanted. But she said that she had no car and her children would have to take their bicycles to carry the produce home. A woman with 8 children and no car in the driveway? It made no sense until she said that she had had a long van that could transport her and all the children but someone had come by the house and shot out all the van’s windows . She said that it was too expensive to replace the windows and that is why she had no transportation. She also said that someone had burned down her storage shed behind the house. And that someone had badly beat up one of her sons. I felt as though I had been punched in the gut. This happening in my own community ? I could see the fear in her body language; not a fear for herself but a fear for her children and their future. She said that she had moved here in the belief that her family wouldn’t be treated this way but came to discover that it was not a safe haven after all.
This has been a happy home with lots of love and joy. But something lurks on the periphery. Something dark and evil.
At this point you, the reader, may wonder just what is going on here. This is because until now, you see no more than a blind man.
A blind man cannot see colors or even black and white. The 8 adopted children of this white mother, lets call her Saint Mary, are of different races. And therefore different colors.
America will never be a true melting pot in peace and harmony until we learn in our hearts that we are all created equal in God’s eyes. And that we are all unique and all miracles.
So the next time you see someone with their hands full in doing good in this world, lend them a hand. Your hand. And I can guarantee that a spiritual alchemy will take place wherein a most precious mettle is created.
Best wishes,
Agnut
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson