This morning I wound my way north and pulled my car into the lot at Hollywood UMC as I do many Tuesday mornings. I went inside, deposited my donations (three heavy bags of books cleaned off the shelves last week during spring cleaning, a sparkling tank top that never did fit as well as I'd hoped, and a pair of well loved and well worn Converse) and jumped right into sorting clothes, moving bins of food and passing out numbers to our guests in line. A typical day though the crowd was much smaller than normal.
Through all of the morning's preparations I talked with my fellow volunteers, said hello to church employees and even gave the nickel tour to a new HUMC attendee/volunteer and her mom. I talked about the weather, baseball (I had my new orange Detroit Tigers shirt on), whether or not the donations to be put out were appropriate for this time of year, and how a former HUMC member and his husband had sent us three boxes of hand lotion (a wonderful surprise and well liked by many guests today).
The point? That I talked. I talked and I talked and I talked. I had quick conversations and longer ones. I laughed over jokes and the hoodie some caring individual had made into a vampire costume then donated. And then when our guests arrived? I talked some more -- but this time, mostly about whether or not the deodorant was scented, whether they wanted black or white socks, and whether or not the light brown pudding might be tiaramisu flavor. There weren't too many laughs or conversations that lasted over two sentences. And yet...
As I left the church this afternoon I left my phone in my pocket and looked around. I didn't check to see if I had missed any important calls (nope) or emails (nope again). I noticed that with the very balmy weather (70 and sunny at noon) today, people had stuck around. The church steps were covered with men enjoying their sack lunches and women chattering to each other in languages I don't understand. And to my left? One of our volunteers, who had never actually come in the building today, was still standing with a guest, reading with him from a book. They were deep in conversation yet took a minute to say goodbye when I waved and called out. I love that she spent her time today standing outside and chatting people up while helping with crowd control. I love that.
So I headed to my car but as I passed the front steps of the church I heard a "Hey" shouted in my direction. I turned and headed back. A few guys I had just served were enjoying their lunch. One, who I've known about five years, asked very conversationally, "Someone said North Korea is declaring war on us, is that true?" There was no preamble to this conversation, just a simple question, one I might have been asked an hour before by another volunteer. And so I answered. I told him what I'd heard on the news and read in today's Times. He talked about the book of Revelation a bit and laughed when I said we sent a boat over to take care of things. The guy next to him mentioned that I had it right with my shirt and then saluted me and all women for finding the most gold in the country. I really don't know what he meant but I played along, bowed, and thanked him. The other guy played along too and said he'd be on the lookout for my gold. It was the most I had ever talked to these guys in the five years I've been serving, and I have to say, I loved it.
I loved it because it was real conversation. Not just people with their heads down, on their phones, moving through life without touching or affecting one another. It was people interjecting and making assumptions and asking questions and it was real. True. Even the guy a few steps down who shouted in my direction, "Why do some guys sleep with other guys?" I answered honestly that I don't really know, that they must enjoy it. He nodded and went back to his banana, adding that some people made fun of him when he ate bananas. Are some of the people I meet on Tuesdays a little confused or overwhelmed or even unhinged? Yes. The conversations don't always make sense or follow a linear thought pattern. But guess what? Some of the conversations I have with people I meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the same. And it's all still part of the human experience, of my experience.
These guys today just wanted a moment to connect. And guess what? So did I. I enjoyed standing there and shooting the breeze and then waving goodbye as I drove past a moment later. I enjoyed hearing the poem about the woman with the beautiful eyes from the man in line to get his socks. I enjoyed being told how great my smile was by a man with one tooth first thing this morning. I enjoyed the heck out of it all.
How great is life that we get to talk to people, meet people, love people? How great is that?
3 comments:
Daniela - double like... and triple like.
Kelly Austin - I can't remember reading anything in the last 6 months that I enjoyed as much as this! Thank you for sharing :-)
Betsy Hunsley-Hunt - Oh to be a fly on the wall to hear all of those conversations ;-)
Christy Cooper - I'd like to have been a fly on the wall with you today, too. Sounds like you had some real conversations. Meaningful, I mean, and heart-warming.
Mark Kinsey Stephenson - A wonderful sharing from my friend, Sarah Knapp, who is an a-mazing person and works diligently/ lovingly with the homeless at Hollywood United Methodist Church. Quite meaningful.
Jay Sowell - My friend Sarah blogging about volunteering with the homeless ministry at church today, and so much more. Simple and profound.
Very nice Sarah! Love, Mom R.
I feel the same way!!!! In my current job, I have to give presentations all the time, from working-level geeks to executives. I could care less about the spotlight part of it (I may be an extrovert, but not that much of a one!), but I *love* the connection part of it, talking to people about what we're doing and seeing what they think of it from their vantage point.
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