Sunday, May 6, 2012

WORLD CAN'T HOLD ME! I GOT AMBITION...

THE WORLD CAN'T HOLD ME, I GOT AMBITION... Well that kind of ambitious thinking may have worked well for JayZ but the think big, live large mantra did not quite work for my fellow love competition partner and me. Our Give and Let Live Drive extended through the month of February and into early March. The idea was that the longer we let the collection of items go, the more we would have to take on the road trip the Reading, PA. After all, that was a long way to go without a full haul. When all was said and done, we had 5 banker boxes full of stuff, two large Duane Reade style shopping bags and one large hefty bag full of donated shoes. Though some of the items (clothing) were not intended for Greater Berkshire foodbank, my idea was if you're helping the needy, it really didn't matter which organization benefitted, as long as those who need it, get it! So with that in mind, I schlepped to my office the night before our road trip, commandeered the big orange hand-truck and put everything in the cargo space of my suv. The items were packed tightly and while it was a heavy load it was not overwhelming and looked like alot! Everything fit in the storage area and we were good to go! I texted Rich to let him know we were locked and loaded and would see him the next morning...road ready! ROAD TRIP RECAP It was a slightly overcast morning with the promise of a sunny 73 degrees. We hit the road around 10:30am armed with a full tank of $4.00 a gallon gas, the trusty GPS, and two low carb diet-crashing bagels(yum ...it's been about a year since I've eaten a bagel but this was a momentous moment and Rich was paying, so what the hell! Live a little). Rich is a rider and I'm a roller, put us together, how they gonna stop both us...the new Bonnie and Clyde of giving hit the parkway for the 2 1/2 hour trip. The sun made its appearance an I opened the sun roof to take it all in! I warned my co-pilot that I was a roadrunner in my other life and that he should strap in and hold on! Beep Beep! We would arrive safely, maybe slightly ahead of schedule but it was bound to be a white knuckle ride for the faint hearted! I ride with the trucks, get annoyed with the highway grandmas, and have been known to get a speeding ticket or two! But Rich is a warrior, so he was down for the adventure. The time passed quickly as we chatted about this and that, the frivolous and the serious alike! I must say as road trip partners go, Rich was one of the better. We took in the scenery, made jokes about the more rural side of life, and felt no pressure to just make conversation for the sake of talking. As we got closer to the town where the pantry was located, something seemed amiss! We thought Greater Berks Food Pantry was in a underserved, poverty stricken area. We expected and in a morbid way, hoped to see some of what the New York Times article spoke of. We both wanted the chance to interact with the people we were helping. Not to play spectator to their misfortune, or to lawd over them the fact that we had driven hundreds of miles to help them feed their families, but to really be a part of the change we were hoping would impact their lives, to be inspired to do more, and to put a human story behind the kind of struggling that comes from a lack of. DONATION DISILLUSION But that was not to be, Greater Berks was located in what seemed to be a very affluent part of town, pristine housing structures, churches, libraries and little home-based businesses like antique shops and real estate brokers along the commercial strip and large farm houses with long rolling hills of land behind them peppered the road way. We pulled into the industrial park where the Berks distribution center was located saw a couple of food trailers lined near the warehouse. It was bitter sweet... happy to be here to unload our haul, but disappointed that the needy Reading, PA we read about didn't seem needy at all! We were greeted warmly by the staff there and it was explained to us that this was the main distribution hub and all donations came through this entry point and were distributed to various local and community groups that ran their own pantries. They confirmed for us that our donation would indeed go to needy communities and that there was a strong need in the areas they supplied food. We were told more about the community, their operation and introduced to the organization's Executive Director, who thanked us for the donations and for inquiring about how we can help further. We then proceeded to inquire about where we could give the clothing. They directed us to a nearby church that ran clothing drives and distributed them to impoverished communities. But like the the Berks food bank it was alll too well-to-do for comfort. The church, Good Shepherds, was a glass and wood encased structure, with well kept flowering grounds and an adjacent day care center. Through the crucifix embossed glass doors you could see the sanctuary and open areas for meetings or services. The doors were locked and entry was permitted only after ringing the intercom. We did several times but no one answered. We then proceeded over to the day care center where on of the teachers tried to get us entry to the church and access to the secretary who was curiously unavailable. We left our donations at the Center where the teacher was more than happy to store our offerings until the church secretary's return. Again, mixed emotions! Had we done the right thing by leaving the clothes there? I have to believe we did, but admit I had a moment of doubt when the teacher asked if our donation included children's clothing, because some of the children come to day care without provisions for unforeseen accidents. Yes, I told her, "there are a lot of children's clothes there in various sizes, no doubt they will come in handy". But the question in my mind was whether the particular children serviced by this day care center were dropped off ill equipped due to a " lack-of" or just parental oversight. Again, I have to believe we did, and they will, "Do the Right Thing!" SERIOUSLY SENIOR MOMENT All this giving sure does work up an appetite! A local eatery was recommended to us by the staff at Berks who were known to "eat out a lot". The place called the County Corner or something countrified and corney like that turned out to be little more than a diner. A diner that must have been running a BOGO special for card carrying AARP members, because we were the youngest people in there and that includes the wait staff! It was pretty large and we wondered what kind of karaoke and line dancing went on there on a Friday night! The food was good and the service hospitable as long as you didn't ask for herbal tea, organic anything, or a slice of lime for some fancy bottled water they didn't carry, or never heard of. Rich and I were mindful to leave our "New York" behind to enjoy our meal; and that we did! IT ALL ADDS UP So a few days ago Richard calls me to see if I too received a thank you letter from the Greater Berks Pantry thanking us for our donation. I didn't, so he came over to my office with his usual lightening speed to give me a copy. The letter thanked us for donating 88.9 lbs. of food! It said our donation will help feed families in the county's neediest communities. Perhaps we'd done some good after all, perhaps bitter/sweet was more sweet than we thought. Hold up, Wait a minute!! Let's do the math... Round up to 89 lbs. If we are comparing this to common pantry can goods, 89 lbs, is the equivalent of about 6 cans of beans, peas, or soup; assuming most can goods are about 15.5 oz. or roughy 13 cans of tuna! When I look at it that way, I suddenly realize yet again in a moment of clarity, Giving Ain't Easy! Time to brush that dirt of my shoulder and move onto the next one!