Visiting the Jersey Shore

In Florida and NC, you go to the beach. Some places call it the coast. In the mid-Atlantic states, you go to "the shore."
Friday was our day off. We had not been off together for 10 days, so we had a big day planned. After Mass we drove to Brigantine Wildlife Refuge near Atlantic City, and looked for the white-rumped sandpipers. They hadn't been seen for 5 days, but we wanted to give it a try. The tide was really high, and I guess there were no places for the little birds to feed on a mudflat, so we failed seeing them. We did see some beautiful mute swans (wild) and a great closeup of a merlin, a type of hawk.
From there we drove north to Tom's River, then took a bridge across Barnegat Bay to a barrier island. The houses on the island were so close that you could touch two different ones at the same time. However, most of the island had been preserved as Island Beach State Park, which was about 10 miles long and a few hundred feet wide.This is the only preserved barrier island in the entire state. We were looking for a thrush that had been found and banded the day before, but we had no real leads on the location, so we didn't see it. We did enjoy walking through the maritime forest on the bay side of the island and seeing the large dunes on the ocean side. The place was pretty much deserted as the season ends on Labor Day. We decided to find a place in the town of Seaside Park for dinner, and found a seafood restaurant still open until Sunday, when it would close until next May. The restaurant was on the second floor of a building and had windows on three sides overlooking the state park and the bay. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to get back to Philadelphia. On the way back we drove through Lakehurst, NJ, site of the Hindenberg balloon explosion, and also Medford, NJ, where Mark's grandmother is buried.

Perspective

I(Mark)have a health concern that is really worrying me. It's not something that will "kill me tomorrow", but it may very well change the way I live longterm. I have been thinking about this issue for a while now, praying at mass for my "special intention". This morning Thea and I went to mass, and again in the silence before the service began, I prayed silently to God to "take this cup from me". As I was praying, I noticed one of the St. Frances Inn's regular guests coming in to mass. He is a swarthy looking character, but basically clean and well mannered. He looked straight at me and, without missing a beat, said: "Isn't it great to be alive today!" Indeed. Here is a man who is, at best working poor, and at worst borderline homeless praising God for the gift of life. Would that we all do as well as this man, and stop worrying about things we cannot control and start trusing more in the Lord.

Mail Check, Please

On Monday, both Mark and I had the opportunity to work in the office of the Inn and answer the "side door." During the day and also during the serving of the meal, many people come and ring the doorbell. Some are asking for diapers, others for a glass of water or a snack cake. But most of them want to see if they have any mail or if they can use our phone.
For people in transitional housing, it is important to have a permanent address. Otherwise, they can miss getting important mail like bank statements and social security checks. Many people use the Inn's address as their permanent one. So the Inn has a file cabinet where we keep the mail in alphabetical order. If a person wants us to check for mail, he shows us his I.D. and we go to the proper drawer and hunt for any mail.
Some of our guests have prepaid cell phones. Others have used up their minutes, had the phone stolen, need to charge it up, or just don't have any means of telephoning. So we have a phone for their use in our office. A staff member needs to be present during the calls. The most common phone call seems to be to a relative. A guest wants to check in, let the relative know how he is doing, and what the latest news is from the street. Sometimes a friend has gone to jail, or died, and the news needs to be passed on.
The other way people use our phone is to call the Inn during serving hours and ask for a person they believe may be eating or waiting to eat. Monday I had a man call from the prison and ask for Robert. I went out to the yard and called for Robert. I was told he hadn't arrived yet. One cannot put the prison caller on hold because it disconnects the prepaid phone call. So I returned to the office and told the caller his friend hadn't come yet. He called back 20 minutes later, and I tried again. This time Robert was there and was able to talk to his friend. I have been told by the staff that sometimes a person in jail will call and if none of his friends are around, that he will use his call time to talk to the staff member, just so he has a conversation with someone outside the prison.

Rainy Days and Mondays.....

Most people prefer a sunny day to a rainy one. Even after the severe drought conditions in NC, I would catch myself complaining about the rain, but would then end my complaint by stating "but we need the rain." Rain was a minor inconvenience, forcing me to run home from the pool, or dash from the car into the school when I didn't have an umbrella.
We had our first rainstorm since arriving in Philadelphia on Thursday night. The wind was blowing so hard it woke me up. In my half-asleep state, I thought someone was breaking into our house through a window. Actually, the sound was the blinds thrashing against the open windows. It was trash collection day Friday, and the garbage cans and recyclables were blowing up and down the street. I was assigned to bathroom duty again, and I watched the guests arrive for the meal. Some had raincoats, umbrellas, even rain boots. Most just had their regular hooded sweatshirts and jackets. I was particularly concerned about the elderly who come with canes and crutches. They could not move quickly through the rain and the streets were slippery. It was impossible to carry an umbrella and use crutches simultaneously. One older man used the bathroom to change from wet clothes to dry ones before his departure. We served only half of our usual number due to the heavy rain. I wondered if those who didn't come would have a hot meal, or any meal, today.

Courage

This morning, I (Mark) went to mass. The usual people were there -- team members, the Franciscan Volunteer Missioners, the Franciscan Friers -- holy, committed people trying to do God's will. These people inspire me daily, buth this morning, there were two newcomers. In the front row were two young men who introduced themselves as Danny and Richard. As mass progressed, I noticed that both held Klenexes and that there was a "connection" between them: a quick pat on the back or a touch on the arm. This support was not between gay partners, but rather the support of "partners in addiction". As the Precious Blood was passed to them, each man raised the cup in honor to the cross and passed the the cup to his neighbor without partaking.
at one point, Richard cried silently into his Klenex. After mass, I greeted both men and my conclusions were confirmed: Danny was five days into the AA program at the Treatment Center across the street from St. Francis Inn; Richard was on his very first day in the program. Both are recovering alcoholics.

Life on the street is hard. Many of our guests have various addictions. I really admire the courage of those who choose to face these addictions and to try to place them in the hands of God. There are many examples, but this morning, it was the quiet courage of Richard and Danny which spoke to me, and I will pray for each of them that they are successful. I invite you to pray for them as well.

It's Breakfast Time

The Inn serves breakfast to the guests Tuesday-Thursday. Unlike dinner, this meal is not a sit-down meal. Guests arrive around 10 am and go to a window where they pick up hot coffee or tea, pastries(Tuesday/Thursday) or cereal (Wednesdays). Wednesday I was in the "yard" where the guests stand or sit and eat and socialize. The yard is a paved lot with some lovely plants and trees along the north and east sides. My job was to monitor the bathrooms. When I had bathroom duty at my various high schools, I detested it because it took time away from getting ready for my classes. However, giving the guests a clean bathroom to use and making sure the bathrooms stay clean made me look at this assignment differently.
While I was at my post, a man came through the gate into the yard. Suddenly, he collapsed on the ground. I ran over and could see he was having a seizure. I went into the Inn and had someone call 911. I could see that as he fell he had gotten abrasions from the gravel. I grabbed some latex gloves and napkins and returned outside. By this time the guest was conscious, but he was struggling against all who were trying to help. Finally, the ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital. Someone got a bucket of water and washed the blood off the ground.
Wednesday morning the reading at Mass had been Luke's version of the beatitudes. Unlike Matthew, who says "blessed are the poor in spirit", Luke says, "blessed are the poor." Luke says blessed are the hungry, not "those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," as in Matthew. Fr. Michael related those differences to the people who believe that the Inn is just a bandaid for the poor, and not a way to make any systemic change. I would like to see a system of justice where there were no homeless people, where the addicted and mentally ill were cared for, fed and loved every day. It would be wonderful if the Inn had no guests because there was no need. Until that day, the Inn will be feeding the hungry and helping the poor.