Small Change Charity

 

The Pick 'n Steal hasn't changed much over the years and I should know, I walk there pretty much every day for coffee after Morning Prayer. A bit samey perhaps, so I've decided to change things up.

Now, instead of leaving the P 'n S, 20 oz tumbler of coffee in hand and walking with urgency back to the Compound, I stop and put some change on a metal box fixed to the side of the shop.

Day 2, there's lots more now, untouched so far

It's a kind of experiment. How much change will accumulate before someone takes it? So far no one has and what does this mean? That our small farming community's rich and doesn't need the money? Hardly. That P 'n S customers aren't thieving scoundrels? If only that were true.

Let's see how this exciting exercise in small change charity unfolds. Hey, every penny counts and get 'em quick before our benevolent rulers ban cash. Speaking of charity, I put in some time at the food bank the other day, helping to unload a truck-full of food for the needy.

What a lot of food! Turkeys, chicken, ham, canned goods, delicious fish and on, not least boxes of farm fresh produce. Great result and it was good to help out for a good cause. We don't want to encourage scrounging malfeasance but neither do we want to see people going hungry.

Just a random small business shut down. Thanks, asset-strippers

They say clergy should spend time outside their churches doing good in the community. I'd agree with that and must do more. It was, you recall, the way of the early church.

Cheers,

LSP

Help Out Fella!

 

The day dawned brightly, with a slight mist and the sun picking up frost on the grass and fallen leaves. Yes, the climate had changed, but so uplifting. Better, to my mind, than living in the DFW metrosprawl where things seem less open and clean. That's the country for you, and more power to it.

Then, as I contemplated the pastoral idyll that is the Compound's backyard, the phone buzzed, "LSP, we need your help!" Huh, better get moving, and in a few minutes I was at the food bank, ready and waiting to do my bit to help suffering humanity.

It was chaos, of course, because a truck had come in with a massive amount of food and everyone was scrambling to store it away. In case you're interested, I ended up stacking pallets of canned corn onto an overflow trailer, which is a fine thing to do in the endeavor to fulfil the Gospel admonition, "I was hungry and you fed me." 

Speaking of which, the local foodbank's curiously undersubscribed. Shouldn't people be starving and desperate for their next meal in this horrendous plague year? You know, not able to get food because of the death that stalketh in the noon day? And lining up around the block for relief? Apparently not. Make of that what you will. Regardless, it was good to help out.

A trip to Walmart and a magazine gone to press later, it was time to drive to the lake and say Mass. Always a privilege, and a new family turned up with their five children, such a blessing. 

We celebrated afterwards with wine and cheese in the church hall, as the kids played in the nursery/playroom. Great result. And that, punters, is the story of that. 

I file this exciting story under God, Church and Country Life in Texas. And guns, obvs.

God bless,

LSP

Go On, Unload The Truck

The local food bank was taking delivery of a big shipment this morning so I lent a hand unloading the truck. This meant I had to wear a mask for the first time in this strange and dystopic plague year.

Was the wretched mask necessary, and the curious black latex gloves which went with it? Who knows, they're just a "rule" at the food bank, but a Spyderco Persistence certainly came in handy for taking down boxes. It's my pandemic knife carry and seems right for the season.

Fascinating knives aside, there's a small Americana museum next door to the food bank, I think it's an excuse for someone to store his collection, and part of that means several ancient vehicles rusting in a lot beside the building. 

You can imagine the wonder of their makers at being told America would be shut down and 26 million unemployed in 2020 because of a Chinese Virus.

After a couple of hours the job was done and I headed off to Walmart to get some supplies for an elderly lady who doesn't get out much. You'll be glad to know this included a bottle of red wine, which she likes.

And please say a prayer for Linda G, a frequent commenter on this shallow mind blog. She lost her house to a tornado yesterday but, thank God, is safe and unharmed. 

LL puts it well, "Her comments on her own blog and on this one reflect her inner strength, her faith in God and her towering grace of spirit and love toward all." Well said, Mr. Wolf, and God bless you and give you strength, Linda.

Your Old Friend,

LSP