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Lunch at a Soup Kitchen

Blogs > AirbladeOrange
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AirbladeOrange
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2563 Posts
December 03 2010 07:01 GMT
#1
As I stood around my nana's kitchen table waiting for my dad to finish taking a piss, my nana told me, "I went to go pick up some milk and a few other things from the gas station today. The young man who was my cashier told me it was $9.44 so I put out my hand with a ten dollar bill in it. As he grabbed it I let go very slowly. I gave him a dirty look and told him this was my drug money. You should have seen the look on his face! Then I told him that if I had an extra dollar I would buy a beer too."

We drove down the rural roads, passing tiny stores and old houses, most I imagined had been passed down from parents to children for generations. It's funny how a small town like this one maintains a very slow rise in its population. The town's near nonexistent draw to newcomers balances out the 99% of residents that never move away.

The parking lot of the soup kitchen was shared by a Christian church and an automotive shop. As we walked to the entrance of the lunch destination my Nana greeted a chubby woman in her 50s. Immediately after the woman was out of our hearing zone my nana whispered to me, "she's the local puttana." My dad later told me that his means whore in Italian.

Once inside the redone hardware store I saw a crowd of around a dozen people, the mean age about around 70. There were three rows of tables lining the open room, each with about ten metal folding chairs on each side of the tables that were slowly rusting away. For each table there was a paper placemat, paper napkin, and plastic silverware. I noticed that there were actually more place settings than there were chairs where I was sitting, even though there was no more room for extra chairs for the additional place settings. That bothered me.

We were all served au grotin potatoes with little pieces of ham mixed in. We had a side of fruit cocktail from a can poured into a styrofoam bowl. For drinks we could pick apple juice, grapefruit juice, or coffee. And for dessert we had the choice of a chocolate brownie, boston creme pie, or a lemon meringue pie, all one day old donations from Topps grocery store. Of course I picked grapefruit juice and a brownie.

While eating I didn't speak much but I learned a great deal about people just by listening. Debby's easy-going demeanor and sense of humor made me forget about her rotting teeth. That is until I looked at her rotting teeth again. I laughed when she called the local puttana a strange woman that gave her the creeps. She grew up in the city only a few blocks away from where I was born and spent the earliest part of my life.

I met one older man who insisted on showing me and my dad the door that his son had just installed in the dining area. He later made a trip out to go pick up some local residents and and give them a ride to lunch.

There was one guy who I swore was hitting on my Nana. I didn't like that guy.

I was also introduced to a small and very frail looking woman. She asked how old my dad was. He replied that he was 60 and she responded that she was 72 and he was too young for her. Apparently, several decades ago she came home from school one day to find her entire family murdered. Holy shit, right?

The local puttana did turn out to be a strange and creepy woman. She seemed to be the youngest person there besides me. My nana and her had this whole passive-aggressive routine down pat. They would insult one another, compliment one another, give a neutral statement to one another, then finish the exchange with another compliment. After all of that my nana proceeded to whisper some curse words about her to me. This happened a few times before we finished eating. That was some weird shit.

My nana is 83 years old, lives in a house alone in the country, and eats one meal a day. That meal is the free one she receives between 11:00am and 1:30pm each day at the soup kitchen.

***
Kakera
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
United States419 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-03 07:39:58
December 03 2010 07:17 GMT
#2
Old people. *shakes head*

User was temp banned for being lousy in general
BlackJack
Profile Blog Joined June 2003
United States9058 Posts
December 03 2010 07:21 GMT
#3
Lol what a strange blog. That first paragraph is hilarious
MuffinFTW
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States235 Posts
December 03 2010 07:37 GMT
#4
Interesting blog, but eating one meal a day isn't very health. ]:
AcrossFiveJulys
Profile Blog Joined September 2005
United States3612 Posts
December 03 2010 07:50 GMT
#5
Interesting. Hope you write some more.
Cambium
Profile Blog Joined June 2004
United States16368 Posts
December 03 2010 08:04 GMT
#6
Interesting read, just out of curiosity: is this a fictional story?

I actually volunteer at a local soup kitchen once a week, and it's not nearly as eerie as the one described in your blog. I guess it varies from town to town.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
Adeeler
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United Kingdom764 Posts
December 03 2010 08:07 GMT
#7
Get a job(if you don't have one) and buy your nana some food.
AirbladeOrange
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2563 Posts
December 03 2010 08:16 GMT
#8
On December 03 2010 17:04 Cambium wrote:
Interesting read, just out of curiosity: is this a fictional story?

I actually volunteer at a local soup kitchen once a week, and it's not nearly as eerie as the one described in your blog. I guess it varies from town to town.


Yes, this is a true story, just happened to me earlier today.

On December 03 2010 17:07 Adeeler wrote:
Get a job(if you don't have one) and buy your nana some food.


Don't worry, my nana will have enough food. But please don't pretend to know the details of her or my situation.
Loser777
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
1931 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-03 09:00:18
December 03 2010 09:00 GMT
#9
This sounded totally surreal as I was reading it at 00:59 O_o mad props
6581
Adeeler
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United Kingdom764 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-03 10:10:20
December 03 2010 10:06 GMT
#10
On December 03 2010 17:16 AirbladeOrange wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 03 2010 17:07 Adeeler wrote:
Get a job(if you don't have one) and buy your nana some food.


Don't worry, my nana will have enough food. But please don't pretend to know the details of her or my situation.


No need to be aggressive dude, sheesh. 1 meal a day even for and old person isn't great.

And your situation is a billion times better then millions upon millions of people around the world so don't pretend people can't comment on it in an open blog. Perspective is great.
Adeeler
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United Kingdom764 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-03 10:10:05
December 03 2010 10:07 GMT
#11
..double post on edit :s
muse5187
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
1125 Posts
December 03 2010 15:49 GMT
#12
So your nana is starving to death whilst you play online at a starcraft website, go figure.
Snuggles
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1865 Posts
December 03 2010 16:31 GMT
#13
Anyone else get weird vibe from this blog O.o
AirbladeOrange
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States2563 Posts
December 03 2010 21:40 GMT
#14
Weird vibe indeed. My point is there is a reason she only eats one meal a day that does not have to do with how much money she makes. Not all information can be gathered from a few paragraphs written by someone that you do not know.

She almost never cooked since her husband died is one reason. She also made a deal with God over 40 years ago that she would fast every evening if my dad came home from the Vietnam War alive. He did come home and she has not broken her promise yet. She is poor but has people who take care of her.
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