Monday, February 16, 2009

almost a real time post... and Natalie


it would have been a rare real time post, if not for veteran's day - found out that the church was closed. 

but i didn't realize that before stopping at nickelsville to pick up a volunteer and the soup ingredients.  i had some  leftover dry rice and seasonings from previous cooking in my car, and frozen chicken breast,  cabbage and onion i found somewhere cheap.  just as well - not much stuff in the camp to make soup from today, save for potatoes and lots of canned vegetables - picked up several cans of corn and green beans to dress up the rice/chicken soup.

just married Donna, who is also a food manager, quipped that she is still happily married. she had her hair done nicely and a light make up  highlighted her pretty eyes.  her new husband Bruce was also beaming - so far so good in their world!  i didn't realize that their honeymoon vancouver, BC trip was postponed and haven't happened yet, but 'it's still being worked on', Bruce said.  i asked about right-after-wedding hotel gifts - how did that go?  there were two, said Bruce:  university inn and a place downtown.  university inn was a suit with kitchenette, which they liked a lot, because of microwave and refrigerator; the downtown place was just a room, and they had to figure out the food, but all the city's attractions were at hand.

at this point i fessed up that i started a blog about nickelsville, 'and you are all in it'. 'fine, we are all going to be famous now', joked Richard. Gina, who came over to share a hug  - how good was to see her! and who heard me saying that i just wanted to chronicle their university- district period thought it was a good idea.  i hasted to add i'm trying to be careful not to tress-pass on their privacy, to which Bruce said 'you can write whatever you want about me and my life', and Gina said 'same about me, but thank you for considering that'.   they asked where it could be found, and i gave them the title of this blog.

i asked where Gus is - as i haven't seen him for a week or so.  'he is in tent city 3', said Richard. more chatting revealed that Gus, too, run into the harsh rules and was booted out.  fortunately, he was accepted into one of the several others tent cities in seattle.  good grief, i'm relieved he has a tent-home somewhere!

and Sirius? (sp?).  where is this  ever-cheerful man now?  he used to supervise the foodstuff tent. i was told that he is  probably in an apartment downtown now.  somebody added  that he maybe is (terminally?) ill, couldn't be in nickelsville any longer. oh, Sirius. hugs.

oh, anybody have seen Brian?  actually yes, someone saw him heading to some housing  complex for people with mental issues just the other day.  maybe he was visiting, i ventured, as i had never noticed any mental issues in my 2 months knowing Brian - he was cool and reasonable ALL the time...  'no, they don't take any visitors there', Richard  calmly explained...

chatting and food collecting done i was now looking for someone to help me cook.  Donna approached a lady i never saw before, and she quickly agreed to help, except she wants to check with her boyfriend.  it is how i met Natalie. Richard decide to come along - i was pleased, because Natalie was sweet but tiny, we needed a strong man to help us transfer and carry the soup in a soup bucket.

after we found the church closed i said:  'sorry, no soup today then, i'll try to cook it at home tomorrow and bring it then, ok?'.  no problem, they both said.  on the short drive back to the camp i asked Natalie how long she has been in nickelsville. '2 months, before that i stayed with my mother'.  how did you end up in nickelsville?  'my boyfriend is here, and he is sick', she said matter of factly.  so how is it for you so far?  

'hard.'.  she said after a brief silence.  hard? why?  'food, food is hard to find,  some people are like vultures here.'  Natalie's words reverberated in my mind after i dropped her and Richard at the gate. i went home and cooked the soup. 2 hours later i was back at nickelsville's  gate:  hello, i need some help, please.

a man on duty  i know i've met before, looked at me with his piercing eyes and chirped: 'i'm no doctor, madame, but how can i help you?'  har, har, funny man.  i think i forgot your name, sir, was it Richard? 'close', says he -'Ricco, i have no idea why i have a spanish name.'. hi Ricco, are you an indian?  'yes, a native american, from upstate new york, Mohican by tribe'.  of course, with his mane  i should have remember that detail. we joked some more, while transporting the soup to the  'kitchen tent'.  

the meeting was in progress.  i tried to steal some time to figure out what was the topic and say HI to Peggy, but Ricco gently stirred me away, informing me, that internal issues were not for my ears, and yes, he will say HI from me to Peggy.

i hope Natalie got some soup for herself and her boyfriend, after all.  the soup turned up pretty good, well received and not too spicy  - Ricco said spicy is always good news here:. while he was looking around for some hot sauce to add to his soup. 


"it's not necessary to advertise food to hungry people, fuel to cold people, or houses to the homeless"
--- John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)



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