Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Soup, soup, soup. Why do I always end up smelling like tomatoes when I leave this place? How did I get tomatoes in my hair? I hate scrubbing pans. Thankfully, my weekly shift at the soup kitchen is almost finished. As I scrubbed, I mused that I never would have signed up to serve soup to a bunch of homeless people if the college had not required it, but I guess I’m glad to have this opportunity. It feels good to serve those who are down on their luck.

I thought back at the faces I saw shuffling through the line. Some were old and toothless, and some were young and barely out of diapers, many toothless too. I grinned as I thought of the irony. I wonder how many kids Sheila has now. She seems to have a new one every time I see her. They can’t all be hers. Ugh! This soup is glued to the pans. I’m ready to be done.

Once I was finally done, the director of the soup kitchen approached me.

“Hey Jake, I have some bad news.”

“Oh no, what happened? Is someone hurt? Did I do something wrong?” I questioned.

“Nothing like that,” he responded regretfully, “Someone stole your car.”

“What? My car? While I was serving soup to the people in this neighborhood, someone stole my car?” I exclaimed incredulously. “I gave up my Saturday, and this is the thanks I get. How am I going to get home? I just finished working on that car, and now it’s gone! This is just great!” I threw the dish towel down on the counter in frustration.

That night as I sat fuming in the kitchen of my parents’ home my dad approached me. “Jake, I’m sorry about your car. I know you worked really hard to get it up and running. Your mom and I see your effort, and we will help you get a new car so you can get to college. Your service to the community is not unnoticed. I’m proud of you. Not everyone respects other people enough to serve them. You’re making a difference even if it doesn’t seem like it. The director of the soup kitchen was so sorry about what happened. He said you are an asset to the community, and the kids just love it when you are there.”

These words did provide a sort of balm to my disgruntled soul, but the loss of that car really stung.