Where do I stand on the presence of a nut in the white house?

Let me be very clear on this one.  This is MY country too.  As a christian I am pretty sure the devil incarnate is holding sway in our nations capitol.  At no point in time have I thought for one minute that he and all his cohorts are doing anything that is going to help me or my causes one bit.  Not one iota.  There was a time when I would have researched all the candidates and made an informed choice, but after seeing the way the Republicans in both the Senate and the House have sucked up to the big orange orangutan that is called our leader I would not vote for a Republican if he were handing out million dollar bags of money on the corner by my house.  Not only would I not vote for one, if my "friends" profess to be followers of the current administration they are out the door.  I refuse to break bread or sip the cup with anyone who finds humor and justice in what this administration is doing to immigrants, poor, homeless, gay, bisexual, black, Hispanic,  women, medicaid recipients, food stamp recipients, and the list goes on and on and on.

Further let me state that the idiot in Washington who brags about "grabbing a woman by the pussy," would be well advised to not try grabbing this woman by anything because it would be the last thing he ever grabbed.  It turns my stomach when I see the women standing around him as he signs into law an edict that takes away their rights as women.  There seems to be no middle ground with this government.  Try to remember that I lived through the time period where women went from being chattel to being productive members of society.  I was there for integration.  I saw the assassination of Martin Luther King, JFK, Robert Kennedy.  I missed the part where our government seized the land and sent the Indians to reservations in the middle of nowhere, but I did work in a bar where it was illegal to sell liquor to Indians and I was there when they were no longer "Indians", but became Indigenous People.  Discrimination by any other name is still discrimination!

At his point in time my news feeds are flooded with pictures of babies being ripped from their parents arms and warehoused in Walmart warehouses.  Of course, those people have no maternal or paternal feelings and the babies are not really human like the babies of the lily white guards ripping them from the only security they have known.  Your president, because he sure as hell is not mine, is snuggled up with the North Korean dictator and throwing kisses at the despot that is in control of Russia.  We march.  We wave our flags.  We write letters and we might as well be wiping our asses on them.  Where is America's outrage?  I have signed so many calls to "Impeach Trump NOW!" that those keys on my keyboard will no longer work.

The only hope we have is with our vote.  If you are going to the polls and vote in the same ilk that made this maniac what he is today then I would wish you would just stay home.  If your goal is to "split the vote" or vote for one of the yoyo's that follows this joke of a president, I would wish you would just stay home.  Of course if you are unemployed, you might want to vote for him because, and trust me when I say this, the federal government will soon be hiring for devoted people to man their ovens.

I am not Superwoman.

I woke up this morning at my usual 3:30 and laid in bed reflecting on life as it plays out here on South Road.  I have a dumpster in my back yard and it is about 2/3 full.  I really need to either finish filling it or just call the pickup man and have it taken away.  That is when it dawned on me the reason for my indecision about a lot of things is that I am trying to save everything as well as everybody that I come in contact with in this world. I function best when I make lists and check things off as I go.  So here it is a little after 4:00 AM and this is my black and white list.

1.  I can not save the world.  The world can not save me.
2.  I can not change people.  I can change my perspective of people.

And here my list peters out.  Not doing so good, am I?  #1 is a given.  It is simple and to the point and there is no room for arguement.  I run myself ragged trying to make sure that everyone has a roof over thier head and a belly full of food, but I miss the big picture.  The world exists outside of my little realm. There are more homeless kids then just the few I see at Posada.  There are more immigrants then the few I see at Los Pobres.  And they change.  The ones I saw last year or even last month have moved on and forgotten about me.  New ones have come in their place.  I hope some where something I did or said helped someone, but I have no way of knowing.  So I move on as they have moved on.

Now as to my perspective of people.  I tend to project on people  I deal with the personna I want them to have.  Most of my friends have become my friends and stayed my friends from the first day I met them.  Frank and Clifford have been my friends since I came to this place from Kansas.  I go years without even speaking with them, but they are there and when I need something they are the first to respond.  I like to think I serve some pupose in thier life as well.

My circle of  friends changed from when I first came here and again after I divorced that husband and again after the stint in college and working at Liz's cafe in Bessemer, and another divorce.  I settled into rather a loose routine when I married Kenny.  That was when I began working in the  LGBT  and later in the AIDS venue.  After the loss of Kenny and then Mark the circle of friends morphed into the immigrant and/or the homeless sector.  I did a stint at Hospice and dabbled in the indigenous sector.  Along the way I picked up a (for want of a better word) "boyfriend".

Now what I was thinking on that little trick, I will never know.  I, once again, projected on him what I wanted him to be, which was a fine Christian believer who would not tell a lie and could always be depended on when I needed someone.  As that turned out he seemed to morph into someone I did not even know.  So while that one is dying a slow, painful death, I am re-evaluating and giving serious thought to selling everything in my garage in a yard sale.  I guess, if the people who stored it there, wanted it, they would have it.  Right?

But all that is neither here nor there and has naught to do with my life today.  Since I seem to be the "on call" person for getting donations from point A to point B, I am going to pick up a load of clothes for Sister Nancy and then come home and get out in that tin shed and get to sorting.  One pile is going to be garage sale stuff and the other is going into that dumpster.  Then I am going to start on this house.  I  have 2400 square feet of floor space crammed with stuff  I never used, will never use, and have no idea why in the hell I drug it all in here anyway!  I have 2 floor looms, for godsake!  I have more sewing machines than Singer!  I have boxes of thread for sewing, weaving, knitting, crocheting.  I have boxes and boxes of books for weaving, knitting.....you get the picture?


So there you have my life in a nutshell!  One passing thought.  Years ago I gave a plaque to my first husband.  It read "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
When he died I inherited that plaque.


When next Spring comes, there is going to be a "For Sale" sign up on South Road and there is going to be an empty garage and an empty house here on this little acre.  My little Honda Fit is going to hold everything I need to finish out my days on this big blue ball.  I am trading my purse for a billfold with a debit card.  My dogs are old.  My cat is mean and I keep remembering "He who travels fastest travels light....and alone."

January 16, 2013. Lunch at my house with my new floors.

From left to right around the table are Faye Gallegos, Maurine Hale, Sister Barbara, Sister Nancy.

 

Under the table is Elvira, Mistress of the Night who thinks she is in charge.

Sister Barbara and Sister Nancy

Pastor Faye listening intently and Pastor Maurine taking notes.

 

This little gathering was one of my better ideas.  What better way to break in my new floor than to have four sainted women over for lunch and discuss a matter dear to all of our hearts?  Just nothing else would do.  A little background here will help you understand.  Pastor Faye is a retired UCC minister and lives in Colorado Springs.  She was Interim pastor at First Congregational when I attended there.  More importantly she was then and still remains my very dear friend and confidante.  She marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and was most vocal and active in the fight for Civil Rights passage.  She is very active in all ministry work including the animal shelters and Heifer International.  And she raised kids at the same time.

Pastor Maurine is very active in the UCC Conference and various groups around Colorado Springs one of which she was representing this day.   This group takes on a project and this time it is Sister Nancy and her Los Pobres Migrant Center.  (An aside here.  Maurine is married to Max Hale, who is still very active in Pastors for Peace and does a blog that you can reach by clicking here! )  While her husband is retired, Maurine remains very active.
When I write about people I usually like to list 4 or 5 things that they will be remembered for, but that is not going to work for this bunch of women. 
So I have introduced you to the two UCC ministers and now we move on to Sister Nancy and her mission with the migrant workers of Southern Colorado.  I finally got a little of the skinny on how Los Pobres came to be the operation it is today.  Seems that many years ago , 1979, to be exact, Sister Nancy was having dinner with Father Gallagher at his parsonage at Sacred Heart of Avondale.  As the evening progressed there would be a knock at the door.  Father Gallagher would excuse himself and step out for about 10 minutes and then come back and set down and resume his job as host.  About the third time this happened, Sister Nancy decided to "spy on him", and was surprised to see him sacking up clothes and food for a man who was clearly an illegal immigrant. 
When she confronted him, he confessed and she told him, "Well, it is clear you are sort of organized, but let me help you and I think together we can do a lot more good."  In the beginning of their operation, it was run from a room in the parsonage.  Sister Nancy began to keep records of the immigrants who were accessing provisions and services.  Of course all this was done behind closed doors as the workers were all illegally in the United States.
But thank God for people who will do what ever is necessary and trust that good will win in the outcome.  In the year 2000 they built a small shed behind the rectory and the operation was moved to that area.   This is how it works in the real world...People die, babies are born, INS arrests and deports illegals to Mexico, women cry, and every day the business of living is a matter of course.  Children who do not know where Mexico is, are sent back there to live in a land they have never seen with people they have never known.
(An aside here  to a personal experience.  I think it was back in about 1980-81, I had daughter Debbie and her husband living in this town with or near me.  Patty and Dona were also here.  Well, Tex and Patty decided to go "work in the fields", since it was ready work and they could make lots of money.  So they piled into my Chevy and off they went.  8 hours later they returned.  Patty's eye was bloodshot and looked very bad.  Seems they were picking peas and Tex had pulled a weed and flipped it over his shoulder into her eye.  They were sunburnt beyond belief, exhausted, dehydrated, generally out of sorts with life.  The opened their hands to give me the fruits of their labors.  This grand total amounted to $3.28.  I was disappointed, to say the very least.)
The point with that story is that wages have nothing to with hours spent bent over in the hot sun.  I recall several years back that there was a lot of uproar about the illegals coming into this country and taking jobs from the locals.  So Pueblo County "cracked down" and the illegals were deported and none came from Mexico.  As I recall, the crops rotted in the fields because no one came to pick the produce.  I think they have lightened up since that little fiasco!
Back to Los Pobres.  In 2002 they received a grant from the Packard Foundation and built the big shed they are in now.  There are 5,000 families registered.  200-220 families weekly access the food bank.  The center distributes 1000 pounds of pinto beans, 600 pounds of rice and 720 cans of vegetables.  Everything at the center is done by volunteers.   Donations are made to the center by word of mouth, mostly.  Got clothes you want to donate?  Sister Nancy east of town,  Furniture, blankets, diapers, hygiene products, appliances, pots and pans, and on and on.  Sister Nancy east of town.  Everyone knows who that is.   I have a bag of coats in my car awaiting delivery.  Last summer I packed up a house full of clothes and household goods.  Took me 7 trips, but I got it all out there.  They are always in need of cooking oil, flour, beans, rice, canned vegetables.  I have a brochure here that I would love to send you.  Just call me.  719-546-1555. 
Well, I have once more digressed.  We did have a lovely lunch of one of my better offerings; home made chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, some sort of veggie and gluten free biscuits with cheese and garlic just because I wanted to make them.  Finished that off with a fresh peach cobbler with ice cream.  So after several hours of visiting, I gave them a tour of my little corner of the world and then they hopped in their cars and away they went.  All things considered, I thin we had a very lovely day and would love to do this again very soon.
Want to join us?
 

Well now what?

Just got up and started checking eBay for ending listings.  Got those taken care of and got my second cup of coffee.  Just setting here planning my day at 5:30 AM and realized that today is the day the world ends.  Damn!  I wonder what time that is going to happen?  I want to shower, but I am not going to get naked and have the world suddenly end and there I stand in front of God and everybody dripping wet in a birthday suit that sorely needs ironed!  And say I do that real quick and make it back out.  What about breakfast?  That is the most important meal of the day, you know.  Can I be expected to go flying across the universe on an empty stomach?  Will there be signs pointing us in the right direction?
In all seriousness, some one posted a picture of a Mayan Calendar and an Oreo cookie on facebook the other day.  I thought there was an amazing resemblance except that the Oreo cookie was chocolate!  Oh, just thought of something else!  If the world has ended, wouldn't my Internet be down?  Oh, and I just had an email from Google that says if I want some one to be notified that I used their name in my blog I should put a mark before their name.  I digress but let me just try that here. +Stephen Smalley .  Now, dear cousin, let me know if that worked!
Back to this end of the world thing.  I did not bother getting ready for this one just like I never bothered the other umpteen times.  I hold firm to the Bible and the part where it says "No man shall know the day nor the hour....".  Oh, and trust me on this, there are a whole lot of other parts that I hold fast, also.  So now that the world seems secure for just a little longer, I will get back to planning my day.
I am gathering up a box full of soap that I made and I am going to take that and a bunch of lotion and body butters out to Los Pabros, the migrant center east of town.  I want the women out there to have something nice for Christmas.  I am not going to wrap it, but rather just have Sister pass it out with the food stuffs.  I was visiting with her the other day and they are sorely in need of men's clothes, so when you are cleaning and tossing any time, think of them.  I know it is easy to drop them off at the ARC or the Goodwill and those are very worthy causes, but so is Los Pabros.  If you will give me a call, I will be most happy to pick items up and deliver them out there.  The things we take for granted are luxuries at the center.  And needs are not limited to men.  There are lots of women and lots of kids of all ages. 
If you ever feel moved to do something, just leave me a comment at the end of my post and a way to get in touch with you.  Or visit my profile and I think my contact info is in that.  For now, I am off to brighten my little corner of the world while it is still here!
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www.shop.loumercer3.com
 

El Centro de Los Pobres and the Preacher came through!

So you are not going to get the slide show, but you can click here to see the album

I do hope there is a slide show up there.  If not it might turn up later.  Google; gotta love them.  Last Thursday Pastor Faye Gallegos, Pastor Max and his wife Pastor Maurine Hale, and Pastor Frank  Jopp and his wife, Elfreida came to Pueblo to the El Centro de Los Pobres. That translates to The Center for the Poor.  It is located in Avondale and is a wonderful haven ran by a child of God named Sister Nancy.  It is for the migrant workers and their families.  The center is manned by only volunteers.  No paid staff at all.  Volunteers include Doctors, nurses, dentist, and people who donate what ever service is needed.  Donated clothing is separated and given to who ever needs it.  Food is portioned out equally to the families.  If you want to learn more you can call or visit the place.  719-947-3109.  Los Pobres Center, 212 East Hwy 50, Avondale, Colorado  81022.
  I am here to tell you two things.  The playground and the only place the kids had to play was destroyed by a storm.  Pastor Faye Gallegos, whom many of you know as my "preacher friend in the Springs" was touched to build a new playground and that is what she set out to do.  She sent letters to her friends.  She did not want to infringe on any entity except her circle of friends.  I am proud to be called a friend by this woman of God.  And, like everything she sets out to do, she accomplished this task.  Last Thursday, October 6, 2011, she arrived at The Center for the Poor and presented Sister Nancy with the monies collected for the playground.  Mission accomplished once more!

Sister Nancy then gave us the grand tour since the other Pastors had not had it yet.  And that is when the full realization of what this place is about hit me.  See this computer?  It is hooked directly to the prison.  Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?  What is it's purpose?  Women come in at a prearranged time and can visit face to face via the web cam with their husbands.  Kids can talk to daddy.  This is the only contact they have with their loved ones and is the last contact before the men are deported.      Why were these men stopped by the police?  Maybe a broken tail light, or jay walking or just about anything.  The important part is they have no papers and are in this country illegally.  Pastor Maureen had an especially hard time grasping the idea that a simple thing like this could be pretty much a death sentence to the family.  The men are deported back to Mexico.  The women and children are here illegally and so have no rights at all.  They can go home.  How?  They can not move freely as they are illegal, and probably have no money.  Many of the children have never known a home outside of this county.  Mexico? Some of them have never even heard of Mexico.  Kids are given schooling and such until they reach the age of  16(?) and then they are granted status of "Illegal Immigrant" and then they are subject to deportation.
   Seems like a few years back Pueblo County cracked down on the illegals that worked the fields.  Big roundups and back to Mexico with you, buddy.  Know what happened?  Crops rotted in the fields.  City people are not going to work in the blazing sun all day for the pittance the farmers pay.  They want a job with benefits.  And air conditioning.  Lunch breaks. Oh,yeah and insurance, paid vacation, sick days, etc, etc.  I know it is a dark, shadowy world and I know that emotions run high when we talk of closing the borders.  Hey!  I was right there with you on that, but I have had to rethink the whole thing.  I finally realized that what ever the pros and cons to the subject are, we are still dealing with human beings.  Flesh and blood men, women and innocent children who had no choice in anything that has befallen them.  Men and women come to this country seeking the illusive golden ring; children are by products of the system.
  But at least out in Avondale at the El Centro de Los Pobres (The Center for the Poor) there are children who for a few hours will have a place to play and a field to dream dreams, thank to people like Pastor Faye and Sister Nancy. 

As you have done this to the least of these my brethern, you have done it unto me.