The Spectrum

Yesterday I went to the Good Samaritan Village. I figured to be greeted with the normal gloom that comes with an assisted living facility after having worked in one while I was in high school. Much to my surprise this was not the case. I talked to Kathy the director of activities about what all goes on in the facility. Everyday they have something different from the day before. One of the most popular actives happens to be bingo, but the activities range from beading to volleyball to bowling to baking.. They have movie nights and music. They can go shopping off the clothes rack boutique and have manicures done every other week. Some people see moving into a assisted living facility as the end of their life. It's the place they go to die, but not this facility. It gives the residents a chance to socialize and be papered. These people have had some hard times in their lives, so maybe this facility gives them a chance to live like they never have been able to.
That night I went back to the Salvation Army to help out with Sunbeams. I felt a pang of guilt knowing that I wouldn't be back the next week. Luci though I found her slightly annoying had found her way into my heart with the hold she took on my hand. I was hoping walking away from this experience would be easier than it was, but it took its toll. I remember being told that if I wanted to do something like this I had to have to stomach for it. I took the statement as a challenge, and completed it. This is the reason why even though I was offered a chance to go back I will not be. I do not wish to be seen as one who will come and and just walk away again. That is something that I do not have the stomach for. I know very well that with the wedding coming up this summer along with the foundation that I am building that my time has been slowly diminishing. The kids are one that I won't be forgetting.

Stranded

A two-wheel drive car is not the vehicle of choice in the winter for a NW Iowa resident, but seeing as it is my only choice I was unable and still am unable to make it back to Sioux Falls. Thanks to icy roads and horrible visibility I am stranded. This is the second time I've been stranded due to weather conditions, and now frankly I've decided it's time for winter to be over. Spring and Summer should get here. NOW!!!! I'm hoping that this front will clear out before tonight so I can get back. If not I'm not risking it again. I have no intentions after last nights almost going in the ditch and then almost kissing another car while only making it a 6th of the way back to Sioux Falls. Hope to be out of this house before I get stir crazy.

whirlwind

On Thursday, we went to go have "tea." Well my tea turned into brewed chocolate which turns out really isn't my cup of tea, but neither are tea and coffee. We spent a lot of time talking about grass roots theatre and were given a lot of websites to look like. It was a good time, and the explanation was well used. After getting back to my dorm room I crashed shortly after changing, and woke up to get ready and head to the Washington Pavilion. After walking around the VAC for two hours, a piece of art had yet to capture my attention, but the place as a whole had filled me up. I had a feeling and need to create a painting, drawing, or something myself. This turned out the be an ice sculpture of a rabbit shortly before it crashed to the ground. I left straight from the Pavilion to go home and have dinner with my mom. Shortly after I went on a grocery expedition with my parents. It turns out the grocery shopping wasn't as it was when I lived at home. Now it's pretty much throw whatever in the cart doesn't matter if everyone likes it or not. When we returned, I had enough time to get ready for a night out with my mentor and friends. Chris showed up, and we went out to eat with my mentor and his wife. Then later we were joined by a good friend for two rounds of bowling. After two rounds of bowling it was 9 P.M. and too early to go home, but too late to go to our usual ice cream spot. So we returned to my place and hung out in the hot tub till 2 A.M.. Turns out when we are attempting to get to bed half way on time that means to number one not talking to my dad and number two not to start talking about random things. The whirlwind that has taken over since Thursday night has now calmed.

Nothing to do but wait

Today was a day of nothingness, or so it seemed. I read two book (one for fun one for class). We attempted to work at the Salvation Army but the youth activities were cancelled due to weather. We decided to sanitize the place. Then we came back. Not sure what I learned yet, but I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere. I'll let you know when it comes to me.

New Slate

Shame and pain
seem to go hand-in-hand
these days.
I just got out today,
and I try
hold my head high.
No one knows me here,
but it's like they all know
what I've done.
They can't though.
This is like a new start
for me.
I haven't had one
of those in a long time.
I've needed it, I guess.
I got no family left,
so it's a completely fresh slate.
This time my past won't catch up with me.

Today while working at the St. Francis house, I over heard a woman say that this was a new start for her. It make me think. Don't we all need that sometimes. My high school back home was devastated a little over a week ago by a friend taking his own life. I wonder if he had a chance for a fresh start would it have made a difference. I wonder if he ever had the chance. He brought my community back home to it's knees. Yesterday I walked through the halls of my high school and the laughter that was there when I walked the halls was sadly dimmed. Now I walked through the door of a homeless shelter and I find joy and home that each one of those back home should feel. I believe that most of us could use a new start, a blank slate. This slate is given to us every morning when we wake up. We can't change what we wrote in the past, but we can change what we are going to write. We have a chance to ask for forgiveness and have the past wiped away. The problem is are we willing to forgive ourselves to accept the gift that's waiting for us?

Marching On

So, it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To the majority of the people I have talked to today they find it to be one of the most pointless holidays of the year. I believe one of the quotes I have received today was, "Yeah the guy did some amazing things, but he's dead. It's time to move on." Seems odd to me when you think that that guy turned a nation upside-down. Today reading some of his speaks (and watching the movie The Princess Protection Program) I realized that it's not about who we are, but about what we can do to better what we have around us.
Theatre for social change is about looking at the world around us, and taking what we see to help better a wrong or change an injustice. In the speech "Our God is March On," it is pointed out that not only is there the wrong of blacks not being able to vote, but it goes right to the heart of the issue. Theatre is used as a tool to speak across barriers just like art. In this case it was the barrier of race that Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to speak across. He stated that the Jim Crow laws were put in place to separate the low class white from the blacks because they were too close. Of course these people were close they were seen as second class citizens in the eyes of the wealthy whites. They also held common goals: to feed their families, keep their pride, and to survive. The speech is a monologue about becoming active to change the world around us. It's exactly what social change is about.

The other speeches I read were: "I have a Dream", "Where do We Go From Here", "Loving Your Enemies", and "Beyond Vietnam."

The Elderly

Today I was back at the Salvation Army helping hand out food to senior citizens with some nice people from the D.O.C.. These nice people also happen to be known as inmates, but they were cool and polite to us. After initially setting up the table that holds the free hand outs from BB&B, we sat down to eat breakfast. Then I handed out some different things to those who needed them. I felt quite useless most of the day, and didn't feel like I had accomplished anything to make anyone's life easier or for the better. Maybe I did I don't know. I just wish I could have done something more. I guess one thing I know I did was bring a smile to some of the inmates faces as I did an impromptu performance of "One" while singing the song. Of course after I noticed that I was being watch I promptly stopped and continued to hum different songs throughout the day. I guess a smile is more than nothing, and I'll take it, but I still wish there was more I could have helped out with.