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 Tuesday 3-16-04
It was the fifth sojourn to Julian yesterday, and as it has done on previous trips, the pile of things to be delivered, swells even to the minute that I start loading the car. There was also a massive amount to include from our first three trips of collecting and taking clothes. They had to be moved a few times and this time will be final. I had prepared bags of quilting/sewing/embroidery supplies for about seven of the ten ladies whose names I had been given c/o Marj Mc Donough of Canyon Quilters. Patsy Miller and I spent another hour adding to those bags and making tough decisions on the limited amount of bags of sorted clothes to take. Since we hoped to meet with someone from Pathways (taking care of the needs for 27 families), we took all the young boys, young teen girls, Levis, men’s shirts and t-shirts, women’s tops and two bags of warm unisex tops. It was maybe half of the pile, about 25 grocery bags. I know there are angels making sure that we fit everything that we want to take.
Today, we are bringing about 70 novels in paperback and hardback. Veronica R has provided an enticing selection of titles and authors who offer a variety of genre. The ladies in Julian have expressed interest in getting “good reads” back into their routine. Their gratefulness seconded that and they went away with treasured books to read and share.
One of today’s surprises is that we could have worn shorts and t-shirts. In contrast to the last trip, where jackets and gloves were helpful in the cold, brisk wind that blew over the snowy ground. The end of that chilly day left enough time for hot chocolate and a slice of the famous Mom’s Café apple pie, before the hour drive home.
Patsy made sure to fill a bag with a fine collection of cotton and woolen yarns and a generous selection of circular and numerous sets of knitting needles suitable for socks. Patterns and books came, too. These were for Diane K a gentle, humble soul whose grateful hands slowly and bravely reached out to receive the treasured tools. They will provide contentment, satisfaction and the tranquility that creative people know, and not merely socks for her friends. The peacefulness of her being had moments of excitement when seeing familiar items that were lost, but now replaced. Her eyes had a sobering quietness from the trials of life from the recent past. It has been almost five months since the fire destroyed her 1930’s house. Its lower half and chimney were made of stone. That is what remains.
Halfway through our visit, Diane K, whose eyes of a clear blue, unlike any others I have ever seen, looked straight into my heart and said a thank you that was deep with reverence and conveyed a journal of thoughts in two simple words. All who have contributed to these deliveries and all who are yet to participate should know this feeling of which I was the fortunate recipient.
We shared supplies and a visit with Donna C who gathered knitting items for herself and daughter Claudia L, who both lost their homes. We, residents from the large city of San Diego don’t realize, but learned that a small mountain community like Julian only needs a limited number of post office boxes. Until the fire. With over 700 homes lost, the post office boxes are shared and the post office has a new significance as the main source for communication. All who meet us in that parking lot know each other.
When asked of her main interest or desires, Claudia K had exclaimed on a survey that she had lost all the purple yarns that she had just collected for making an afghan. Patsy and I were able to fill a bag of beautiful purples and two large crochet hooks, as she had wished. Brilliant white skeins were added. Can you feel her joy of starting a new project in her efforts to turn a page in her life that she didn’t know was in the book?
As we continue to make new friends, we are the ones who are blessed and can offer help and hope and a smile. We can’t know their grief nor their array of challenges. We do know their pioneer spirit and their enduring will to make it through the next chapter. Like the lemon yellow and white daffodils along roadsides that were enthusiastically bursting into bloom on this bright, warm day, each sunrise brings a new beginning.
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