A Glimpse of the Other Side

This morning, my husband and I handed packages of food to individuals who lived in trailers, in a dank room in a seedy hotel, in a lovely development, and in a townhouse with a window air conditioner held in place by two pillows. To a one, those individuals were grateful. Some said thank you, some said God bless you, and one lady complimented us because we found her trailer on the first try. “Been here 53 years,” she proudly announced.

We drove roads within ten miles of our house that I had never been on before in my life. We walked up rickety ramps to porches holding abandoned appliances, rusty tools, and feral cats and into rooms, (one without any air conditioning) filled with so much clutter, there was barely space to set down the food. A gracious 98 year old woman living in a home I suspect she once shared with her husband and family greeted us from her wheelchair and offered us something to drink. “What you’re doing is wonderful,” she said. “If I were younger, I would be doing the same thing.”

Delivering meals for the local senior center offers us a much needed and frankly, long overdue glimpse of the other side. Our drive took us away from our comfortable existence filled with more than we could possibly need and brought us right smack up against our fellow humans living in far different circumstances. Some of the places where these folks lived were uninhabitable, but there they were--watching television, feeding their cats, living their lives. And waiting for food that would sustain them for another few days. I would guess most of them rarely leave their homes.

My husband and I both reached a point where we felt we had to do something, no matter how trivial, to counteract all the horror and cruelty inflicted by this monstrous administration. Most days I can hardly stand to hear what’s happening but I refuse to bury my head in the sand and say, “I just don’t listen to the news anymore.” I firmly believe we must learn truth and face reality, even though people like me who were born here with white skin and probably enough financial resources to see us through to heaven will mostly be unaffected. Or not. Who knows?

In the meantime, taking a few hours each month to place food in the hands of people who need it helps a little. Sure, it’s easier to write a check and stay once removed from it all and for the most part, that’s what we’ve always done. But we both believed it was time to get our hands just a little bit dirty. To see what poverty, loneliness, and physical infirmity look like in the faces of our fellow humans.

It’s so easy to become jaded and cynical in a world where greed and deceit are flaunted by rich and powerful people intent on destroying the lives of those who are different from them. But, no matter where we live or how we live, we all need someone to see us, to offer a smile and a little kindness and a meal or two. To say God bless you and be careful in this heat.