Not such a special post Christmas dinner tonite…but the potato-corn stew did have some dumplings.  Doughy not fluffy; but still not too bad.  The greens had a decent vinegerete and there was that chewy piece of bread to sop up with.  No dessert cookie this time, though…and then we heard a “Chew it long cause they’s no seconds tonite, people!!!”  Oh joy, I guess we’re back to the same-ol’ same-ol’ prison fare here…   It sure was heartbreaking seeing some of the children leaving the place on their little bikes in that biting cold, though.  And especially with not one frickin’ cookie with that meatless meal!  Y’ know, I don’t think folks mind grown men being uncomfortably hungry in the cold because they’re men…and so they wouldn’t get scared like kids would down inside.   And, since men tend to be resourceful, they can always find a better place…even if it means digging a hole…or even committing robbery and warming up in the prison hole!!  Call me old fashioned, but I just don’t like kids anywhere near prisons (which I think the Mission actually is what with all the P.O. oversite and parolees there…). Furthermore, I think there oughta be a law where children (and their moms and/or dads, of course) aren’t forced to be here and can get to be in a decent hotel with clean new rooms.  And, if it’s on Christmas, by God also a tree would have to be there with presents!!!  Christmas is for the kids…first…and then we get to be second if we’re lucky enough to watch them be happy. And it only costs a cookie or two. They laugh and smile so easy…but down to the Boise Rescue Mission it’ll just break your heart.

Hey, also a big shout-out to Occupy Boise and Pizza Hut Pizza for the free pizza at Corpus Christi Sanctuary today!!!  I’d say maybe 125-150 folks there got 2-3 pieces each.  Boy howdy, it was packed!  And lots of bread sticks, too!  Really a great treat on such a cold gray day…and really great to see the Occupy folks again, too!!  (So far, that makes Old Chicago Pizza, Occupy Boise, and Pizza Hut as the only ones I saw who made sure folks got a special treat for Christmas here in Boise…other than the Mission and church meals this past week, of course.)  Merry Christmas everyone and hope you all have a Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Day, and I’m giving a big shout-out to Old Chicago Pizza for handing out free pizza to folks!  I only happened to hear about this last night from Patty at the Mission; and so I’d determined to pedal on in for somewhere to go today.  To give you an idea of the turnout, they’d been serving since 9:00 am (it wasn’t widely publicized, by the way) and so when I got there with just a half hour left to go (at 2:30) this pic shows you the line.  Mind you, it was quite cold with a biting wind, a school bus full of children was just filling back up to leave, and there were still many small children huddled in line against their mothers; so the scene struck me as quite poignant on such a cold gray Christmas Day.  And especially with downtown Boise otherwise so completely closed and deserted.  Well, I skipped the idea of pizza for myself–instead claiming a tangerine someone had left behind on one of the concrete sidewalk plant pots–and pedaled first over to Corpus Christi’s sanctuary, then up around Boise’s Hyde Park, and then back downtown–again looking for a warm place to duck into until dinner time at the Rescue Mission.  Once back into town I found refuge at The Cruz coffee shop (which the owner had just opened up on a lark), had a pleasant conversation with him on ideas for invigorating traffic–like bike parking inside, etc.–and then I headed over to the Misson.  Christmas dinner turned out to be really pretty good: lots of meat (I’m guessing shredded turkey), leafy salad, green beans, spuds and gravy, and plus I lucked into two deserts since the guy across from me didn’t want his.  I also had a fun conversation with the same guy who I’d just seen at Corpus (a big fellow who’d helped Patty reach up and unstring two dozen Christmas stockings she’d knitted and hung for the kids) and so I’ve got to say I’ve had a pretty memorable Christmas Day.  I think it says a lot when a lonely old fudger like myself can put together a Christmas Day for himself with just a bike, coffee money, and a camera phone.  I personally consider that pretty memorable.  Merry Christmas everyone and may God bless!

Great meal! And also some great company w/Patty there, too! She’s w/the Occupy Boise group (she was a main Vigil keeper all last winter) and has become pretty important to the street people now. Her big brown van is usually parked nearby and available as a quick place to warm up in an emergency–often somewhere near the Sanctuary or Corpus Christi–and she always tries to be a mother to those in need. Well, anyway, during our talk there together she happened to recount to me how at age eleven, as a native american child (Nez Perce/Shawnee), she was sold into marriage to some white guy who later died in Vietnam. Wow, really quite a revelation I thought! And, boy, how times have changed! But, then again, that’s Patty’s personal way with folks. We were both due to get to know each other a bit better, and I think with her depth of life experience and understanding she was reaching out the hand of friendship real nice there. Big-hearted and quick-witted, I always enjoy seeing Patty…and, hey, all that chocolate frosting on my lucky corner piece of cake I got was nothing compared to her company this evening! Really a great meal and great companionship down at the soup kitchen tonight!

Dinner at Mission 12-15-12

Patty at Dinner 12-15-12

Spagetti tonite…plus we got seconds…plus I gave my cookies both times to the children at the table behind me. (Their mom is working as a bell-ringer this month and, well, it’s times I had a pocketful of those $100 bills to hand out…)

Wednesday’s evening goulash at the Boise Rescue Mission:
I found some shredded turkey clumps in the mushed taters (which is where they hid the facsimile-thereof for tonite) and then I took the slice of bread home to soften in the microwave for a sandwich later on. A very chewy sandwich which definitely required teeth.