"At the soup kitchen"

8/21/09

There is a big welcoming sign in front of the doorway to the free lunch. But the door is locked. I bang for a while before I'm noticed. A woman comes to the door and says: "The sign tells you to come around the side" (no, there is no sign) "Haven't you been here before?" "Yes, I have"

It's 12:30 and the lunch ends at one. The last time I was here, I noticed that more people showed at 12:30 then they did at 12, so this time I came later. Each week, a different church manages the lunch so the rules are always changing. The food is in the back kitchen. I walk to the kitch.

E-"Is there any food left?"

"Yes" a server says. She gives me a drumstick, melon, and corn. I ask if there are any breasts and she says no. To me, this looks like a snack, rather than a full meal.

Server-"Taking it to go?"

E-(Now why would they assume that when it's only 12:30?)

E-"No, I'm eating here." (I feel rushed already)

I sit with a 55 year old woman, her boyfriend and their 12 year old son. I notice the man was given 3x more food than I was. This isn't the first time I've noticed that men get much bigger portions than women.

I have my Obama button on my coat. The woman I'm sitting with, has a thick rural drawl and I can barely understand her.

Lady-"Did you vote for Obama?"

Elana-"Nope" I joked, but she didn't get it, so I said "yes, i did"

Elana-"Did you?"

Lady-"Absolutely not. We voted for Ron Paul"

E-"Is he libertarian?"

Lady-"Oh yes, he's very liberal. He's pro gun AND pro family. But we're not political"

E-(This conversation isn't making much sense to me. She's more interested in talking then listening, so I just listen)

Lady-"Now that O. is in office, my food stamps have gone up."

E-"To what?"

Lady-"300 a month, for a family of 4" "I used to get 14 a month"

Someone starts spraying cleaning chemicals on the table next to us, and they're all ready to shut down. The stream of spray is so long, I worry we'll get sprayed. I try to eat fast. I ask if there is any more chicken left. The first male worker Iasked said, no there is not; yet, the man at my table was given 3 carry out meals...................................Since I know that nobody anywhere knows what there doing, I ask a second worker. "Is there any chicken left?"

"Yes, she replied"

The workers start stacking chairs on the tables, and I'm mentally prepared for them to stack chairs right on top of our table while we're eating.

The woman at my table says alot more about how dangerous HUD is. She says that maintenance men will steal your food! (Of course that's what happened at La Pew, but she didn't really give me an opportunity to tell her that) She went on to say: "Never trust a Pennsylvania cop" "Perry hall is city now" (I'm going to assume that she means that in an unofficial way)

While I"m eating a volunteer comes over and asks if we want our blood pressure checked?! Is she kidding me? I think about that irony sice soup kitchen food tends to be so high fat.

The minute I take my last bite, a volunteer chimes out, "FINISHED?!"

e-"Doesn't look like I have any choice BUT to be finished." I tell her.

The one woman wants to hang around and talk to me, but I said loud enough for the workers to hear me, "we better talk outside, cuz they're in a hurry to get us out of here"

Coming up soon, my experience at the next week's soup kitchen............................................

"At the soup kitchen"

"The Best Health Care in the World"

If it weren't for Byron putting gas in my tank this morning, I would have never made it. I would have never made it to my vision appt. at Wilmer.....................Wilmer Eye Institute. People travel the world to Baltimore so they can get care from Johns Hopkins Hospital and Institute.

I have no doubt that the diagnosis I received and the overall care I got was good. But both the asst. and the doctor seemed very rushed. The asst. was pretty condescending. When I told her that I had one experience a few weeks ago where I was completely blind for 4 minutes she rolled her eyes at me. "People don't just go blind unless there is a reason"

E-"And if you don't know the reason, I certainly don't either"

She put all sorts of drops in my eyes before doing the exam. Boy was I surprised when she said "you're vision is perfect" "no abnormal eye pressure" The doctor will be in to do another test, but first you have to sit in the lobby and wait for your eyes to dilate"

After about 1/2 hour the Doc. came in. Also, his speech was so rushed, that when I went to ask a question he interrupted me in the middle. I had to repeat the question to make sure he heard me. He also gave me a clean bill of health but is going to do a visual field test on a different day.

When I left, I found the sun hurt my eyes badly and my vision was blurred. I tried to drive to Whole Foods, but had trouble. I stopped at the park, hoping to hike while waiting for my eyes to normalize, but I couldn't because the light/sun hurt my eyes so bad.

Where besides a bar is dark enough for me to hang out for a while. I hung in STarbux Mt. Washington for over an hour. My eyes still aren't right. All together I waited 2.5 hours before heading back to Carroll County, my eyes are still dialated.

It's really something to sit in the lobby of Wilmer, and realize that I'm surrounded by well to do patients, for the most part.

But when my appt. was over, I asked the Doc. can you refer me to a place that can afford to pay for my glasses, I don't have the $ to pay for new glasses.

He said he doesn't know, but the optical people might in the eyeglass clinic. I waited before asking. They told me what types of glasses were an option for me (progressive, readers, etc) I found it all pretty confusing. They said "The frames range from 99 to 499!" That's when I asked if they could refer me out. I told them that once, Penn OPtical gave me free glasses years ago before I was on Medicare. Of course I know to try the Lion's Club. They gave me one more option of a place to call.

I'll let you know whether or not I find anybody to pay for my glasses. I've needed new ones for years. But, I'm thrilled and surprised (because my # is -850) that my eyes appear to be perfect! And despite the not so great people skills of the workers......................I'm most grateful to be receiving some of the best health care known to America!

"This week in real estate!"

I just pulled the following article out of storage. I had 20 years of journals in storage so they wouldn't be stolen from my La Pew apt. After all they will be turned into a book. Here is an article about one of the first towns i was homeless in, in spring 1994.............................

Down Your Way


A Bayside suburb where different cultures meet
St. Kilda

Location-About 5 km south of the CBD

St. Kilda is nothing if not accommodating and flexible. This seaside suburb has had as many ups and down as Luna Park's Big Dipper.

At the turn of the century it was a rather grand place to live and to visit. Tourists flooded to the bayside to promenade and swim at the sea baths.

During the Depression its small terraces had their fair share of unemployed. Soup kitchens were set up at the Town Hall. After WW2 it accepted a a flood of Eastern European refugees who put their own stamp on the suburb's life, adding exotic restaurants and cake shops. Good coffee arrived and stayed.

In the 1960's and 1970's it was Melbourne's relatively tame sleaze capital. It became the city's drug capital in the 1980's.

Young homebuyers discovered it's charms in the 1980's and it went through a real estate transformation. It once had one of the highest levels of tenants in the state. Many of the suburb's large mansions had been turned into boarding houses and many of the flats were rented, not owner occupied.

During the 1980's however, many boarding houses were reconverted to private homes and many blocks of flats were upgraded, strata-tiled and sold to those wanting a share in St. Kilda's charms.

"A delight of the bay, St. Kilda is Melbourne's playground!"

"If I see you driving dangerously"

I will not hesitate to call the cops on you. today i called the cops on someone who passed me at 80 mph over the double yellow line in a 30 mile zone. i WILL memorize your plate! So don't tempt me, got it?!

Baltimore Magazine/Baltimore Memoirist 4/07

"Growing up in Black and White"

article written by Geoff Brown on memoirist David Matthew's

Ace of Spades, David Matthew's engrossing new memoir about growing up in Baltimore, provides a unique look into the city's white and black societies. Matthews is the son of Ralph Matthews Jr. the black Afro-Americna reporter, and Robin Kahn, his white mother. "I remember kids from Pigtown calling me "nigger" and I remember kids from the Murphy Homes calling me 'honky' Matthews, 39 says from NYC. "But as with any place where your identity is formed, Baltimore has remained for me a crucible-the only place I could have come from. A few people have found me because of the book, and they have all said the same thing:

"Thank you for nailing Baltimore."

When I tell people about the segregation, the danger, the smallness and the charm-"they don't believe me"

Elana's note:

Virtually no one will believe what I have lived through either.

Baltimore Magazine's "Up Front" 4/07