Now that June is here it means that the majority of the volunteers I went through orientation with are preparing to leave. Jane left last week. Seth leaves today. Janet will leave the 14th. Sara and Stacey are both leaving this week. And I leave in 27 days.
A lot of people here have asked me if I'll extend. I don't know the answer yet. Sometimes I think I might, but I still don't feel 100% about any decision. All I know is that I'm looking forward to going home for the month of July and spending a little time by myself and "processing" everything. Past volunteers have said it is a shock to the system, so I know I'll need that time alone.
Still, until then life continues on, perhaps at the fasted pace it ever has during my time at CAP. This past week we received some huge news: The Catholic Volunteer Network (of which CAP is a member which is how CAP receives the AmeriCorps award) was denied any AmeriCorps awards for the 2011-2012 year. Luckily, I'll still get my award from this year, so I don't have to worry about that, but ALL the volunteer programs which are members of the CVN will lose their AmeriCorps funding for 11-12. That's a ton of programs, including some huge ones like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Thanks a lot, Congress.
Not too much happened this week... But on Friday some of us went to Seth's last game (it was much quieter than last time; a lot less rambunctious cheering), and beforehand I stopped in Berea at this awesome used bookstore called Robie & Robie's. Rachel at the MTV (Mt. Vernon) House told me she saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close in there - a book we both love. The store looks like someone's attic library with books stuffed everywhere in a mildly haphazard way. I found another book that I wanted, but couldn't find the one Rachel told me about. So I finally asked the lady at the desk, not holding out much hope that she would know if it had been sold recently. However, she said "Yeah, it's right here. Oh, but I can't sell it to you. It's an Advanced Reader's Copy... But you can have it for free if you want." I was so excited, and I was glad that I had found a book to buy, because I would have felt weird just taking a free book from the store without something in exchange. So I was really happy going to the game. Afterwards, Seth's team (who are members of his church in Berea) prayed over Seth and invited the CAP volunteers to join in. It was really nice.
Yesterday I had considered going to Pleasant Hill with some of my housemates because there was a special "Adventure Day" event going on... but I think they just hiked and didn't do a tour. I'm really only interested in going on a tour because Shanna and I have already hiked some of the trails. Anyway, they left at a weird time and it didn't work out, but I'm glad because it opened me up to different (and better) opportunities. I went out to lunch with some other housemates and we drove out to Brodhead to get some ice cream (but ended up just getting ice cream at Aunt Polly's like we usually do because the place in Brodhead only had vanilla softserve). Then I went to Mike and Julianna's (former volunteer and current volunteer) wedding at camp. It was really nice, but hot! There was lots of dancing to a great soundtrack and smores!
Today I'm going to Knoxville with Janean and Meghan to pick up Shanna at the airport... and I don't know what else! I've never been to Knoxville before. This month is shaping up to be extremely busy at work, but I hope to continue to regularly blog during these last few weeks of my time at CAP!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
How Is It the End of May Already??
WOW. So much has happened since I last blogged. I don't even know if I can remember it all....
For starters, on Friday my housemate Karen ended her term of service which officially makes me the resident senior housemate; not that it comes with anything other than bragging rights. Still, it's strange to look back at the Evolving Housemates List and see all the names of the people I used to live with. In regards to the whole valley, Carl and Sarah have both been here a few more months than me.
Ok, let's just dive in to all the things that have been happening:
Women's Retreat:
It went pretty well. We had fifty-something women from each of the five counties. The author Adriana Trigiani gave a talk via Skype (and she sent me one of her books for free). Originally Shanna was going to come help, but Disaster Relief responded to the tornado devastation in Alabama and so she chose to stay down there for two weeks. Unfortunately I was unable to go because of Women's Retreat - that's the second time I've missed out on a Disaster Relief response and I'll likely not get another. But still, Women's Retreat was nice. I met some sweet ladies, got to cook lunch with the regal Jane Marotz, made some killer brownies, and took glamour shots / created a slideshow for the women.
Spring Retreat:
Last weekend was Spring Retreat, also at Camp AJ (like Women's Retreat). The theme was "revealing your vocation" although I certainly didn't get that out of it. It was really just so-so. It seemed like we had less free time than Fall Retreat; however, there were some fun activities. One afternoon we went to all these stations set up outside and did fun stuff like: blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, hugging trees, looking high and low, sitting in rocking chairs and focusing on just "being", and watching the lake. Seem strange? Probably. It was a little weird, but fun too. It would probably make more sense if I went into all the explanations for each station, but that would take too much time. The true highlight of Spring Retreat was mattress sledding. At Fall Retreat (at Camp Shawnee) a group of us had dragged a couple of those foam camp mattresses out onto the deck and had a snuggle / nap session. Annie and I decided to recreate the effect at Camp AJ and dragged a mattress to the dock. That night we were carrying it on our heads back to the dorms when I said we should use it to slide down the monstrous hillside at camp. The dew helped tremendously, and we reached some good speeds. We attracted a small crowd who shared our enthusiasm. I don't mean to brag, but I was definitely one of the best mattress sledders. I had the run, jump, superman-onto-the-mattress thing down. Someone even brought out another mattress so we could have races. The only downside was the long, steep climb back up the hill.
Fr. Frank:
Fr. Frank is leaving his posts in Mt. Vernon, McKee, and Berea. The bishop is sending him to Winchester/Mt. Sterling and we are getting a new priest who is fresh out of the seminary. Fr. Frank said Fr. Mike is much quieter than he. Still, I'm hoping he brings an exciting new energy. Fr. Frank doesn't leave til July, so we get to have him a little longer. I have really enjoyed Fr. Frank's homilies. He's very good.
Spiders:
Our house has been infiltrated by bugs, especially spiders. Lauren found a Black Widow in her room the other day. I swear I killed two Brown Recluses last summer in my old room. And I don't think I'll ever forget the gigantic cockroach in the living room my first month here. We've brought it up at multiple house meetings, and the bug guy FINALLY came back to spray (he'd been MIA for months) so hopefully we'll be seeing less of those nasty things.
Other things that have happened:
- National Day of Prayer in London - awesome singing / music by some of our volunteers and a great sermon by a pastor from Owsley
- I stole the creepy baby picture from the McCreary house while covering Family Advocacy down there - there's been a stealing war going on between all the houses. Although McCreary has stolen back the baby picture, we still have the apple clock from Floyd and the singing fish from Jackson. I almost got away with stealing the cherished "Dana and Allen picture" from McCreary, but Mike caught me and got it back.
- Jean's Restaurant has burned down - what bad luck. They got robbed last year and now this.
- Got to go home for Brescia's graduation / BBQ fest which was nice even though the weather sucked.
Here's some more recent stuff:
Exit Luncheon:
This past week there was an exit luncheon for all the volunteers who are leaving between now and early July. I qualify at the tail end of the group. It was sad to be sitting there with all those people (I think there were at least sixteen of us) knowing that each of them would be leaving, and someday I'd be leaving too. Several people cried. I didn't, but I sort of felt like it. We all sat in a big circle with our program managers, the volunteer life managers, volunteer program staff, and fellow volunteers. Each manager presented their exiting volunteers with a certificate and could say a few words about them. I can't remember exactly what Robyn said about me - probably some standard response - but she also shared a story that I also will never forget. In fact, it's one that I blogged about very early on: the time she, Kevin, and I delivered that stove and fridge and I got us totally lost while we drove around for two hours (even crossing the county line a couple times). I guess that's the story that will always stick with her when she pictures Lynn Hardesty. I'll take it, I suppose. The only other person who got a story was Ben, and Robyn's story about him was when he tried to hitch the little kid big wheel to the back of a tractor at the cookout at her house. It was an incredibly emotion filled day and I felt more confused than ever when it was over. Part of me wanted to stay, part of me didn't think that was the best idea. I guess time will tell, but I can tell you that I am making steps to figure things out, and I know I have the whole volunteer program praying for my next steps, as they are praying for all the exiting volunteers. Kiara said something about how we take for granted the fact that we live and work in a Christian community and she's right. There is such a sense of acceptance and support here and I hate to think about leaving it. In some ways, I feel I can be more myself here with my friends than I might have been in years.
Seth's Game:
My friend Seth from the Jackson House plays on his church's softball team. They have games most Friday nights at Lake Reba in Richmond, but this past Friday was the first time I've gotten to see him play. A large group came, since it's one of his last games (he's leaving in a week!) There were pom-poms and messages written on chests, colorful signs and shameless screaming. I think we embarrassed him a little, but it was all out of love, and several regular fans complimented our cheerleading skills. Even though they lost, it was still a good time.
Out East:
Me, my housemates Ana and Megan, and Mt Vernon House volunteers Sarah and Lauren (a short-termer) went out east Saturday morning. We hung out at Floyd House and went cliff jumping at Pickel Fork. I chickened out, but some of our group participated. We met some other fellow cliff jumpers and were reprimanded by the water patrol (since it is actually illegal to cliff jump). We also saw a huge snake swimming through the water (this is after people had already jumped in). We got to eat at Pig in a Poke that night and meet some people who were visiting one of the volunteers.
On Sunday our west-side group drove all the way to Louisa for Mass so we could meet Fr. Beiting. Although Fr. Beiting didn't say Mass, he was still there and we got to shake hands with him, talk with him, and take a picture. For those that don't know, Fr. Beiting is the founder of the Christian Appalachian Project. He took quite an interest when I told him I was from western Kentucky and that I'd gone to school in Owensboro. He said he used to street preach all down the Ohio many years ago (anyone out there remember that?). As we talked I thought about how crazy it was that my whole life (literally, we all eat-sleep-breathe CAP here) at the moment was based upon the crazy hopes and dreams of this old man with bushy white eyebrows standing before me. It was quite a capstone experience to finally meet the man behind the legend.
Later that day we drove to Miguels Pizza at Red River Gorge and met up with a former volunteer - Rachel (who went to the Avett Bros concert). It was awesome to see her again because she's so sweet and nice. She's now working at a camp in Indiana where they do educational outdoor programming for school kids during the year and camp during the summer. She brought a bunch of friends from the camp with her. It's a lot like CAP in the sense that they all live together and work together. Several of her friends were from different countries which was so cool. There were some guys from the Phillippines, one from Thailand, one from Seattle, a girl from Japan, and lots of other places. One guy, Andrew, was from England. I struck up a conversation with him and told him how much I loved London and wanted to go back and see the rest of England. He's from Norfolk and told me about all the different places I should go see (the only ones I remember off the top of my head were Bath and Oxford - so check those out, Mom and Dad!) He said Liverpool is "the Detroit of England" (Would you agree, Dori?) and that Brighton is "a big place for homosexuals" (What do you think about that, Cam? haha) Then he said that if I ever come to Norfolk I can stay at his place. So now I have places to stay in England, Australia, New York, and California - if I can ever get some money together to get to those places! Don't think I've forgotten your promises, travel friends! And if you ever find yourselves in Kentucky, you always have a place to stay here.
We are now back home and I am quite tired from all the driving around we did. Tomorrow there is a BBQ at Camp AJ with all the west-side houses. I look forward to it, but am happy to just be lazy tonight after the busy weekend I've had.
For starters, on Friday my housemate Karen ended her term of service which officially makes me the resident senior housemate; not that it comes with anything other than bragging rights. Still, it's strange to look back at the Evolving Housemates List and see all the names of the people I used to live with. In regards to the whole valley, Carl and Sarah have both been here a few more months than me.
Ok, let's just dive in to all the things that have been happening:
Women's Retreat:
It went pretty well. We had fifty-something women from each of the five counties. The author Adriana Trigiani gave a talk via Skype (and she sent me one of her books for free). Originally Shanna was going to come help, but Disaster Relief responded to the tornado devastation in Alabama and so she chose to stay down there for two weeks. Unfortunately I was unable to go because of Women's Retreat - that's the second time I've missed out on a Disaster Relief response and I'll likely not get another. But still, Women's Retreat was nice. I met some sweet ladies, got to cook lunch with the regal Jane Marotz, made some killer brownies, and took glamour shots / created a slideshow for the women.
Spring Retreat:
Last weekend was Spring Retreat, also at Camp AJ (like Women's Retreat). The theme was "revealing your vocation" although I certainly didn't get that out of it. It was really just so-so. It seemed like we had less free time than Fall Retreat; however, there were some fun activities. One afternoon we went to all these stations set up outside and did fun stuff like: blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, hugging trees, looking high and low, sitting in rocking chairs and focusing on just "being", and watching the lake. Seem strange? Probably. It was a little weird, but fun too. It would probably make more sense if I went into all the explanations for each station, but that would take too much time. The true highlight of Spring Retreat was mattress sledding. At Fall Retreat (at Camp Shawnee) a group of us had dragged a couple of those foam camp mattresses out onto the deck and had a snuggle / nap session. Annie and I decided to recreate the effect at Camp AJ and dragged a mattress to the dock. That night we were carrying it on our heads back to the dorms when I said we should use it to slide down the monstrous hillside at camp. The dew helped tremendously, and we reached some good speeds. We attracted a small crowd who shared our enthusiasm. I don't mean to brag, but I was definitely one of the best mattress sledders. I had the run, jump, superman-onto-the-mattress thing down. Someone even brought out another mattress so we could have races. The only downside was the long, steep climb back up the hill.
Fr. Frank:
Fr. Frank is leaving his posts in Mt. Vernon, McKee, and Berea. The bishop is sending him to Winchester/Mt. Sterling and we are getting a new priest who is fresh out of the seminary. Fr. Frank said Fr. Mike is much quieter than he. Still, I'm hoping he brings an exciting new energy. Fr. Frank doesn't leave til July, so we get to have him a little longer. I have really enjoyed Fr. Frank's homilies. He's very good.
Spiders:
Our house has been infiltrated by bugs, especially spiders. Lauren found a Black Widow in her room the other day. I swear I killed two Brown Recluses last summer in my old room. And I don't think I'll ever forget the gigantic cockroach in the living room my first month here. We've brought it up at multiple house meetings, and the bug guy FINALLY came back to spray (he'd been MIA for months) so hopefully we'll be seeing less of those nasty things.
Other things that have happened:
- National Day of Prayer in London - awesome singing / music by some of our volunteers and a great sermon by a pastor from Owsley
- I stole the creepy baby picture from the McCreary house while covering Family Advocacy down there - there's been a stealing war going on between all the houses. Although McCreary has stolen back the baby picture, we still have the apple clock from Floyd and the singing fish from Jackson. I almost got away with stealing the cherished "Dana and Allen picture" from McCreary, but Mike caught me and got it back.
- Jean's Restaurant has burned down - what bad luck. They got robbed last year and now this.
- Got to go home for Brescia's graduation / BBQ fest which was nice even though the weather sucked.
Here's some more recent stuff:
Exit Luncheon:
This past week there was an exit luncheon for all the volunteers who are leaving between now and early July. I qualify at the tail end of the group. It was sad to be sitting there with all those people (I think there were at least sixteen of us) knowing that each of them would be leaving, and someday I'd be leaving too. Several people cried. I didn't, but I sort of felt like it. We all sat in a big circle with our program managers, the volunteer life managers, volunteer program staff, and fellow volunteers. Each manager presented their exiting volunteers with a certificate and could say a few words about them. I can't remember exactly what Robyn said about me - probably some standard response - but she also shared a story that I also will never forget. In fact, it's one that I blogged about very early on: the time she, Kevin, and I delivered that stove and fridge and I got us totally lost while we drove around for two hours (even crossing the county line a couple times). I guess that's the story that will always stick with her when she pictures Lynn Hardesty. I'll take it, I suppose. The only other person who got a story was Ben, and Robyn's story about him was when he tried to hitch the little kid big wheel to the back of a tractor at the cookout at her house. It was an incredibly emotion filled day and I felt more confused than ever when it was over. Part of me wanted to stay, part of me didn't think that was the best idea. I guess time will tell, but I can tell you that I am making steps to figure things out, and I know I have the whole volunteer program praying for my next steps, as they are praying for all the exiting volunteers. Kiara said something about how we take for granted the fact that we live and work in a Christian community and she's right. There is such a sense of acceptance and support here and I hate to think about leaving it. In some ways, I feel I can be more myself here with my friends than I might have been in years.
Seth's Game:
My friend Seth from the Jackson House plays on his church's softball team. They have games most Friday nights at Lake Reba in Richmond, but this past Friday was the first time I've gotten to see him play. A large group came, since it's one of his last games (he's leaving in a week!) There were pom-poms and messages written on chests, colorful signs and shameless screaming. I think we embarrassed him a little, but it was all out of love, and several regular fans complimented our cheerleading skills. Even though they lost, it was still a good time.
Out East:
Me, my housemates Ana and Megan, and Mt Vernon House volunteers Sarah and Lauren (a short-termer) went out east Saturday morning. We hung out at Floyd House and went cliff jumping at Pickel Fork. I chickened out, but some of our group participated. We met some other fellow cliff jumpers and were reprimanded by the water patrol (since it is actually illegal to cliff jump). We also saw a huge snake swimming through the water (this is after people had already jumped in). We got to eat at Pig in a Poke that night and meet some people who were visiting one of the volunteers.
On Sunday our west-side group drove all the way to Louisa for Mass so we could meet Fr. Beiting. Although Fr. Beiting didn't say Mass, he was still there and we got to shake hands with him, talk with him, and take a picture. For those that don't know, Fr. Beiting is the founder of the Christian Appalachian Project. He took quite an interest when I told him I was from western Kentucky and that I'd gone to school in Owensboro. He said he used to street preach all down the Ohio many years ago (anyone out there remember that?). As we talked I thought about how crazy it was that my whole life (literally, we all eat-sleep-breathe CAP here) at the moment was based upon the crazy hopes and dreams of this old man with bushy white eyebrows standing before me. It was quite a capstone experience to finally meet the man behind the legend.
Later that day we drove to Miguels Pizza at Red River Gorge and met up with a former volunteer - Rachel (who went to the Avett Bros concert). It was awesome to see her again because she's so sweet and nice. She's now working at a camp in Indiana where they do educational outdoor programming for school kids during the year and camp during the summer. She brought a bunch of friends from the camp with her. It's a lot like CAP in the sense that they all live together and work together. Several of her friends were from different countries which was so cool. There were some guys from the Phillippines, one from Thailand, one from Seattle, a girl from Japan, and lots of other places. One guy, Andrew, was from England. I struck up a conversation with him and told him how much I loved London and wanted to go back and see the rest of England. He's from Norfolk and told me about all the different places I should go see (the only ones I remember off the top of my head were Bath and Oxford - so check those out, Mom and Dad!) He said Liverpool is "the Detroit of England" (Would you agree, Dori?) and that Brighton is "a big place for homosexuals" (What do you think about that, Cam? haha) Then he said that if I ever come to Norfolk I can stay at his place. So now I have places to stay in England, Australia, New York, and California - if I can ever get some money together to get to those places! Don't think I've forgotten your promises, travel friends! And if you ever find yourselves in Kentucky, you always have a place to stay here.
We are now back home and I am quite tired from all the driving around we did. Tomorrow there is a BBQ at Camp AJ with all the west-side houses. I look forward to it, but am happy to just be lazy tonight after the busy weekend I've had.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Springtime Comes to the Cumberlands
Let's rewind some... First off, with all the WorkFest tidbits in the March update a crucial piece of information was overlooked. Mt. Vernon's new stoplight was finally activated on March 8th! We now have five stoplights (that I know of). It's been such a help. Traffic gets "crazy" (a relative term) at the intersection of Richmond Road and School Street since the hospital, elementary school, and post office are all in that area.
Now more recent news: Two weekends ago I drove to the Sandy Valley region, better known in CAP world as "the east side," to see my friend Jessica. She lives at the Johnson House in Hagerhill. She's leaving for home (New Jersey) at the end of the month, so I wanted to visit her now because I was afraid I wouldn't have any other chances to see her between now and May. It's so weird to me that she's leaving because I remember when she got here! We met at Carter Caves (location of the annual volunteer gathering in late August), but I didn't really get to know her until our week-long orientation at Camp Shawnee in late September. She's totally awesome and I love her so much. Originally she and Jennifer (another Johnson House member) were going to take me to some parks in the area but it stormed all weekend. Still, it was great to see her, and that was the real reason for the visit. I left after going to St. Clare's fish fry in Berea with my housemates, so I didn't get to Johnson 'til about 9pm. The first part of the trip was lovely, with the late sun warming everything up and the Hal Roger's Parkway literally lined with redbuds. I got to see my friend Maggie as well as Jane and Amy (all Floyd House members) when I got there. They'd made a special trip to see me. Aww! The whole weekend just consisted of low-key hanging out: sitting on the porch swing and listening to the rain barrels filling up, learning to play Dutch Blitz, and going to Pig in a Poke (bar and BBQ place).
Last weekend I went to Keeneland with some friends. It was my first time and I actually won three times! I messed up my very first bet - I said the wrong number at the window, so I went back and bet on the horse I originally wanted to bet on, but also had that other bet. They both ended up showing and I won a profit of $1.20! Might not sound impressive but it was my first time betting and it was the highest profit of the day amongst my friends. Of course I didn't come out ahead at the end of the day but it was very fun.
And something else I found out that weekend: One of my participants (well, technically the husband of one of my participants, because I deal much more with her than him) was arrested.
From the Mount Vernon Signal:
- Chainsaw Training / my week as a vagabound out east
- the huge, creepy, furry dreamcatcher I found in my room
- the "Is this the place where you give out free money?" guy
- Floyd House Olympics
- Ben Sollee Concert
- Christmas Basket distribution crazy-ness
and probably tons more...
Now more recent news: Two weekends ago I drove to the Sandy Valley region, better known in CAP world as "the east side," to see my friend Jessica. She lives at the Johnson House in Hagerhill. She's leaving for home (New Jersey) at the end of the month, so I wanted to visit her now because I was afraid I wouldn't have any other chances to see her between now and May. It's so weird to me that she's leaving because I remember when she got here! We met at Carter Caves (location of the annual volunteer gathering in late August), but I didn't really get to know her until our week-long orientation at Camp Shawnee in late September. She's totally awesome and I love her so much. Originally she and Jennifer (another Johnson House member) were going to take me to some parks in the area but it stormed all weekend. Still, it was great to see her, and that was the real reason for the visit. I left after going to St. Clare's fish fry in Berea with my housemates, so I didn't get to Johnson 'til about 9pm. The first part of the trip was lovely, with the late sun warming everything up and the Hal Roger's Parkway literally lined with redbuds. I got to see my friend Maggie as well as Jane and Amy (all Floyd House members) when I got there. They'd made a special trip to see me. Aww! The whole weekend just consisted of low-key hanging out: sitting on the porch swing and listening to the rain barrels filling up, learning to play Dutch Blitz, and going to Pig in a Poke (bar and BBQ place).
Last weekend I went to Keeneland with some friends. It was my first time and I actually won three times! I messed up my very first bet - I said the wrong number at the window, so I went back and bet on the horse I originally wanted to bet on, but also had that other bet. They both ended up showing and I won a profit of $1.20! Might not sound impressive but it was my first time betting and it was the highest profit of the day amongst my friends. Of course I didn't come out ahead at the end of the day but it was very fun.
And something else I found out that weekend: One of my participants (well, technically the husband of one of my participants, because I deal much more with her than him) was arrested.
From the Mount Vernon Signal:
Father Charged with Abuse of SonAnd just thinking of all the things I've done this year that I never got a chance to write about... Things I'm sorry I never blogged about:
A Livingston man has been charged with 2nd degree criminal abuse after striking his son in the head with a baseball bat.
Jesse Vanwinkle, 34, is in the Rockcastle County Detention Center under a $25,000 cash bond after being arrested at his home.
Kentucky State Police and the Rockcastle Sheriff's Department responded to a call Sunday afternoon at a residence on Sand Hill Road. Upon arrival, the officers learned that a nine-year-old male juvenile had been struck in the head with a baseball bat.
Vanwinkle's nine-year-old son Larry was flown from the scene to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington in critical condition. According to Larry's mother, Susan Vanwinkle, her son underwent brain surgery on Monday and had a metal plate attached to his skull, where it had been fractured.
Larry came through surgery and is recovering at the medical center.
According to Susan Vanwinkle, the couple's children were in one room of the house, and started misbehaving. Before she could get to them to see what was going on, the couple's father told her that he had hit the child with a baseball bat.
After police investigated the circumstances surrounding the assault, they arrested Vanwinkle.
The couple's three other children are currently staying with their grandparents. KSP Detective Donald Wilson is in charge of the investigation and was assisted by Trooper Jason Vanhook, the Rockcastle Sheriff's Department and the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services / Child Protective Services.
Larry was reportedly released Wednesday from the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital.
- Chainsaw Training / my week as a vagabound out east
- the huge, creepy, furry dreamcatcher I found in my room
- the "Is this the place where you give out free money?" guy
- Floyd House Olympics
- Ben Sollee Concert
- Christmas Basket distribution crazy-ness
and probably tons more...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
March in a Nutshell; Welcome to Redbud Month!
THIS is why I need to blog more regularly. I'm going to attempt to relay some of what I did this month... in bulleted form so as to hopefully help keep things somewhat organized.
WorkFest - The majority of my time during March was spent helping with WorkFest (CAP's alt spring break program for college students - http://christianapp.org/vol/alternative-spring-break/workfest/). Amy asked me to head up the Donut Crew and create the slide show. WorkFest is three weeks long, and every Wednesday four of us long-term volunteers drove to the Manchester Bakery in Clay County (owned by a group of Mennonites) and delivered donuts and joy to the eight job sites throughout Jackson, Clay, and Owsley counties. We split up into two teams of two, each visiting four sites - week one I was with Seth, week two I was with Annie, and week three I was with Annie again but Jane and her visiting sister Beth joined us. It was a lot of fun! We also took pictures for the slide show. Then I sifted through the tons and tons of photos and created some awesome slide shows with kick ass music. I also had to print out group photos and organize them and some other materials for the packets. Might not sound like much, but my week was jam-packed Wednesday through Friday with WorkFest stuff. I spent the night at camp several nights a week and missed house dinners quite a bit. It was awesome but it was definitely a totally different schedule for me.
Some Highlights from WorkFest - overcoming my nerves and climbing onto several roofs; lying in a ditch with Seth during a tornado drill; being an "indie DJ" as Annie called me; being stuck on a country road for like 20 minutes and singing "Country Roads" for the linemen; blasting Jock Jams Say-Anything-style; and so many more! It was great to see all the energy that the students brought, and the short term crew leaders were all so awesome.
March Madness - How 'bout them Cats?? Final Four for the first time in, what, 11 years? I didn't hold out hope that we'd get past Ohio State. Then I doubted we'd beat North Carolina. What a birthday treat it was that they made it so far! And last year on my birthday I remember they lost to West Virginia. I was unable to watch them play UConn as I was at the movies (more on that later), but I was updated via text. I wanted to cry when I got the news!
My 23rd Birthday (Week) - I share my birthday with another long-term volunteer, Ben, who lives at Jackson and works in Housing. Ben's a year older though so really I have to thank him for sharing it with me! On the Friday of our b-day weekend a group of us went out to a bar that we "frequent" (as in maybe once a month) in Richmond. McCreary Megan's boyfriend Chris was visiting from the east side and his birthday is the day after mine and Ben's. We joked that we were triplets. Our awesome friends got us a cake, but not just any old birthday cake. No, it was a cake with multicultural girls made out of vanilla wafers and icing cuddling under a blanket and "SLEEPOVER" written large. Apparently they were out of birthday cakes at Kroger. On Saturday I got together with Chris, a friend from Brescia who transferred to EKU in Richmond. On my actual birthday I just went to Mass at St Pauls, met Ben's parents who were visiting, and watched the UK game at the Jackson House. The week following my birthday Jenny made the office lunch one day in my honor and we went out to Mexican another day and Robyn had them let me wear the sombrero and the whole nine yards. What a week of celebrations!
Totally Random - I finally got a Madison County library card. (Rockcastle residents can get one for free which is soooo lucky for me because the Rockcastle library is horridly understocked. Really, it's appalling.) I'd been getting over 40 hours a week (one week I had 52 hours) because of WorkFest, so most Fridays this month I only worked a couple hours. One sunny Friday afternoon I went to the Berea branch, got my card, checked out East of Eden, and sat on Berea College's lovely campus and read. I pretended I was in college again and it was beautiful.
March was a crazy month full of stress and confusion about the future. But lately I've decided just to hold off on worrying and try to enjoy the present moment as much as possible.
Now we're in April which is Redbud Month in southeastern Kentucky! Last Friday we had a county-wide health day with a walking trail around Renfro Valley and free goodies like a free Subway sandwich, Victoria Secret spray, and a redbud seedling. I think I'm going to plant mine here so that a piece of me will always remain looking over the hills. The trees are starting to bud, the grass is greener than ever, and the wind is wild. Some days are warm, some are chilly - Redbud winter is here, but it's warming up slowly.
Lastly, Mission: Recapture Jane - during the last week of WorkFest, Jane told me that she'd be going to Selma with her home church from Wisconsin for a week to do some volunteer work down there. They were going to drop her off in Elizabethtown on their way back to Sheboygan Falls. She asked if Annie and I would pick her up around midnight on Saturday night / Sunday morning. Annie and I left Berea around 2:30pm and spent the afternoon / evening hanging out in Louisville. We walked around downtown a lot (and got parking for free - unintentionally!), went to going-out-of-business sale at Borders (mostly picked over stuff, but found a book I really wanted and got it for 70% off!), and tried to go see an IMAX at the Science Center (but it was closed for renovations!). I was open for whatever adventures presented themselves, but it was a pretty low-key day. We decided after dinner that we would like to go to the movies, so we used the GPS to find one. We ended up at an empty lot! We finally found a movie theatre in St. Matthews; it was one of those theatres that only shows movies that are about to come out on DVD. I wanted to see Harry Potter because I STILL haven't gotten to see the new one, but by that time it was 10 pm and the only movie playing was True Grit. I'm not a huge fan of the Coen bros; the movie was ok though. Afterwards we drove to Etown to meet Jane, but she had called and said they wouldn't be there til 2 or 3 am. So Annie and I had deep conversations in the car and slept a little. Oh, and accidentally waved to a creeper in a van. Anyway, eventually our lovely Jane came back to us and we began the 2 1/2 hour drive home. I finally got to bed at 5:30am!
What a month! What a life!
WorkFest - The majority of my time during March was spent helping with WorkFest (CAP's alt spring break program for college students - http://christianapp.org/vol/alternative-spring-break/workfest/). Amy asked me to head up the Donut Crew and create the slide show. WorkFest is three weeks long, and every Wednesday four of us long-term volunteers drove to the Manchester Bakery in Clay County (owned by a group of Mennonites) and delivered donuts and joy to the eight job sites throughout Jackson, Clay, and Owsley counties. We split up into two teams of two, each visiting four sites - week one I was with Seth, week two I was with Annie, and week three I was with Annie again but Jane and her visiting sister Beth joined us. It was a lot of fun! We also took pictures for the slide show. Then I sifted through the tons and tons of photos and created some awesome slide shows with kick ass music. I also had to print out group photos and organize them and some other materials for the packets. Might not sound like much, but my week was jam-packed Wednesday through Friday with WorkFest stuff. I spent the night at camp several nights a week and missed house dinners quite a bit. It was awesome but it was definitely a totally different schedule for me.
Some Highlights from WorkFest - overcoming my nerves and climbing onto several roofs; lying in a ditch with Seth during a tornado drill; being an "indie DJ" as Annie called me; being stuck on a country road for like 20 minutes and singing "Country Roads" for the linemen; blasting Jock Jams Say-Anything-style; and so many more! It was great to see all the energy that the students brought, and the short term crew leaders were all so awesome.
March Madness - How 'bout them Cats?? Final Four for the first time in, what, 11 years? I didn't hold out hope that we'd get past Ohio State. Then I doubted we'd beat North Carolina. What a birthday treat it was that they made it so far! And last year on my birthday I remember they lost to West Virginia. I was unable to watch them play UConn as I was at the movies (more on that later), but I was updated via text. I wanted to cry when I got the news!
My 23rd Birthday (Week) - I share my birthday with another long-term volunteer, Ben, who lives at Jackson and works in Housing. Ben's a year older though so really I have to thank him for sharing it with me! On the Friday of our b-day weekend a group of us went out to a bar that we "frequent" (as in maybe once a month) in Richmond. McCreary Megan's boyfriend Chris was visiting from the east side and his birthday is the day after mine and Ben's. We joked that we were triplets. Our awesome friends got us a cake, but not just any old birthday cake. No, it was a cake with multicultural girls made out of vanilla wafers and icing cuddling under a blanket and "SLEEPOVER" written large. Apparently they were out of birthday cakes at Kroger. On Saturday I got together with Chris, a friend from Brescia who transferred to EKU in Richmond. On my actual birthday I just went to Mass at St Pauls, met Ben's parents who were visiting, and watched the UK game at the Jackson House. The week following my birthday Jenny made the office lunch one day in my honor and we went out to Mexican another day and Robyn had them let me wear the sombrero and the whole nine yards. What a week of celebrations!
Totally Random - I finally got a Madison County library card. (Rockcastle residents can get one for free which is soooo lucky for me because the Rockcastle library is horridly understocked. Really, it's appalling.) I'd been getting over 40 hours a week (one week I had 52 hours) because of WorkFest, so most Fridays this month I only worked a couple hours. One sunny Friday afternoon I went to the Berea branch, got my card, checked out East of Eden, and sat on Berea College's lovely campus and read. I pretended I was in college again and it was beautiful.
March was a crazy month full of stress and confusion about the future. But lately I've decided just to hold off on worrying and try to enjoy the present moment as much as possible.
Now we're in April which is Redbud Month in southeastern Kentucky! Last Friday we had a county-wide health day with a walking trail around Renfro Valley and free goodies like a free Subway sandwich, Victoria Secret spray, and a redbud seedling. I think I'm going to plant mine here so that a piece of me will always remain looking over the hills. The trees are starting to bud, the grass is greener than ever, and the wind is wild. Some days are warm, some are chilly - Redbud winter is here, but it's warming up slowly.
Lastly, Mission: Recapture Jane - during the last week of WorkFest, Jane told me that she'd be going to Selma with her home church from Wisconsin for a week to do some volunteer work down there. They were going to drop her off in Elizabethtown on their way back to Sheboygan Falls. She asked if Annie and I would pick her up around midnight on Saturday night / Sunday morning. Annie and I left Berea around 2:30pm and spent the afternoon / evening hanging out in Louisville. We walked around downtown a lot (and got parking for free - unintentionally!), went to going-out-of-business sale at Borders (mostly picked over stuff, but found a book I really wanted and got it for 70% off!), and tried to go see an IMAX at the Science Center (but it was closed for renovations!). I was open for whatever adventures presented themselves, but it was a pretty low-key day. We decided after dinner that we would like to go to the movies, so we used the GPS to find one. We ended up at an empty lot! We finally found a movie theatre in St. Matthews; it was one of those theatres that only shows movies that are about to come out on DVD. I wanted to see Harry Potter because I STILL haven't gotten to see the new one, but by that time it was 10 pm and the only movie playing was True Grit. I'm not a huge fan of the Coen bros; the movie was ok though. Afterwards we drove to Etown to meet Jane, but she had called and said they wouldn't be there til 2 or 3 am. So Annie and I had deep conversations in the car and slept a little. Oh, and accidentally waved to a creeper in a van. Anyway, eventually our lovely Jane came back to us and we began the 2 1/2 hour drive home. I finally got to bed at 5:30am!
What a month! What a life!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tally-Ho!
First, real quick - Anita and Randy (high-ups in the CAP chain of command. Anita is the Director of Human Service Missions or something like that here in Mt. Vernon and Randy is the Chief Operating Officer or something out of Lexington. We're not big on titles here) came by my office yesterday. Apparently the whole Williams Street office is moving this fall. I'm bummed. I probably won't be here at that time, but still... I really like being on Williams Street. I like that we are in town and more available to people who just want to stop in and I like that we are by the elementary school. Almost everyday I hear the kids taking their after-lunch walk around the building. Sometimes they play follow the leader type games. It's cute to watch. Anyway, it was nice to see Anita and Randy. I like that the leaders of CAP care so much about volunteers. Randy actually was a volunteer back in the day, so I feel like he really understands things from our perspective. And I've spent several car rides squished in Anita's car, driving to joint Family Advocacy meetings at Natural Bridge. I sort of miss those... Owen always had the funniest things to say!
So here's the real story of the day:
This morning the house car (aka the Cobalt) had to go to the dealership in Richmond because there was a recall (this involves a confusing story about how the McCreary Cobalt's engine wouldn't shut off for hours) plus it needed an oil change. Richmond is a quick half-hour trip up I-75. I almost always drive on two-lane US-25 (which runs mostly parallel to I-75) between Mt. Vernon and Berea, but since I was heading on to Richmond I decided to drive the interstate the whole way.
It was 8:30 AM. I was almost to Berea, heading north on I-75, when I saw a semi in the right southbound lane. It appeared to be bouncing up and down which seemed weird. Then it started careening toward me! The cab turned to the left, cut across the left southbound lane and crashed through the concrete barrier between the northbound and southbound traffic. The whole thing tipped as it collided with the barrier. It happened maybe 20 feet in front of me. Debris flew into both northbound lanes. There was hardly anyone on the roads that early (thankfully!) so I pulled onto the shoulder to avoid debris and called 911. A semi that was behind me pulled over and the driver jumped out to check on the guy, so I continued on toward Richmond. I briefly debated staying, but we had a appointment at the dealership. And now that I look back, would I be able to handle what the inside of the cab looked like?
I could already tell that traffic was getting backed up. As I got to the Richmond exit I saw an ambulance going south. My time at the dealership was uneventful (Burford's waiting area is much much nicer than Bishop's in Mt. Vernon). When it came time to go home I knew that there would be a traffic jam, so I figured I'd get off I-75 at Berea and then take 25 home. The roads were fine until a mile or so before the exit. Suddenly it was a gridlock and I was surrounded by semi's. I-75 has an inordinate amount of semi's. The interstate goes from Cincinnati through Lexington and on to Knoxville, so I guess there's a lot of business between the cities. The semi behind me kept getting waaaay too close to me and would drive up on the shoulder and nose his way next to me; I have no idea why! It took about half an hour just to get to the exit.
Of course tons of cars and semi's were choosing to take the exit. Police were all over the place, having set up an official detour on 25. I knew I didn't want to take 25 with all the cars and semi's going on it; it would surely be as jammed as I-75 was. So I went further into Berea and onto 1617, a backroad into Rockcastle county. I patted myself on the back for being familiar with the backroads; they certainly are a help. Of course it was more out of the way, but I still think I made better time compared to 25 and it felt good to keep moving as opposed to inching my way down the "quicker" route. I had to rejoin 25 and it was ok until I got close to the I-75 overpass. People were apparently reentering the interstate. I took another backroad on a whim around Lake Linville. Another out of the way road, but at least I kept moving! By the time I got back to the office it was 11:30. I had gotten stuck in traffic around 10. The normally 20 minute drive had turned into an hour and a half!
I didn't really mind too much because I had absolutely nothing to do today (and nothing else exciting happened all day). I'm glad that no other vehicles were involved in the wreck and hopefully the semi driver is doing ok. You never think that you'll see something like that. Of course I read about wrecks in Rockcastle all the time in the weekly paper, but I never thought that I'd actually be witness to one. I can't believe how lucky I was that the semi didn't come completely into my lane. Would I have been able to avoid it? Probably, because I had enough room to slow down. But what if I had been driving just a little faster, or left a little earlier, and were hit by the huge chunks of debri? Scary thoughts.
This short article includes a picture to give you some idea of what it was like:
http://www.lex18.com/news/all-lanes-of-i-75-reopened-in-rockcastle-county-after-morning-semi-crash/
Why the title "Tally-Ho"? When we traveled to South Bend for the Avett Brother's concert, Christel noticed that just about every truck driver had a mustache. We made it into a game where we would shout "Tally-Ho!" when we saw a driver with a mustache. I wanted to title this blog "I Hate Semi's" but I shouldn't say that..
UPDATE:
The driver's condition has upgraded from "critical" to "serious." And this short article better explains the wreck: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/03/1656188/tractor-trailer-crash-closes-i.html#
So here's the real story of the day:
This morning the house car (aka the Cobalt) had to go to the dealership in Richmond because there was a recall (this involves a confusing story about how the McCreary Cobalt's engine wouldn't shut off for hours) plus it needed an oil change. Richmond is a quick half-hour trip up I-75. I almost always drive on two-lane US-25 (which runs mostly parallel to I-75) between Mt. Vernon and Berea, but since I was heading on to Richmond I decided to drive the interstate the whole way.
It was 8:30 AM. I was almost to Berea, heading north on I-75, when I saw a semi in the right southbound lane. It appeared to be bouncing up and down which seemed weird. Then it started careening toward me! The cab turned to the left, cut across the left southbound lane and crashed through the concrete barrier between the northbound and southbound traffic. The whole thing tipped as it collided with the barrier. It happened maybe 20 feet in front of me. Debris flew into both northbound lanes. There was hardly anyone on the roads that early (thankfully!) so I pulled onto the shoulder to avoid debris and called 911. A semi that was behind me pulled over and the driver jumped out to check on the guy, so I continued on toward Richmond. I briefly debated staying, but we had a appointment at the dealership. And now that I look back, would I be able to handle what the inside of the cab looked like?
I could already tell that traffic was getting backed up. As I got to the Richmond exit I saw an ambulance going south. My time at the dealership was uneventful (Burford's waiting area is much much nicer than Bishop's in Mt. Vernon). When it came time to go home I knew that there would be a traffic jam, so I figured I'd get off I-75 at Berea and then take 25 home. The roads were fine until a mile or so before the exit. Suddenly it was a gridlock and I was surrounded by semi's. I-75 has an inordinate amount of semi's. The interstate goes from Cincinnati through Lexington and on to Knoxville, so I guess there's a lot of business between the cities. The semi behind me kept getting waaaay too close to me and would drive up on the shoulder and nose his way next to me; I have no idea why! It took about half an hour just to get to the exit.
Of course tons of cars and semi's were choosing to take the exit. Police were all over the place, having set up an official detour on 25. I knew I didn't want to take 25 with all the cars and semi's going on it; it would surely be as jammed as I-75 was. So I went further into Berea and onto 1617, a backroad into Rockcastle county. I patted myself on the back for being familiar with the backroads; they certainly are a help. Of course it was more out of the way, but I still think I made better time compared to 25 and it felt good to keep moving as opposed to inching my way down the "quicker" route. I had to rejoin 25 and it was ok until I got close to the I-75 overpass. People were apparently reentering the interstate. I took another backroad on a whim around Lake Linville. Another out of the way road, but at least I kept moving! By the time I got back to the office it was 11:30. I had gotten stuck in traffic around 10. The normally 20 minute drive had turned into an hour and a half!
I didn't really mind too much because I had absolutely nothing to do today (and nothing else exciting happened all day). I'm glad that no other vehicles were involved in the wreck and hopefully the semi driver is doing ok. You never think that you'll see something like that. Of course I read about wrecks in Rockcastle all the time in the weekly paper, but I never thought that I'd actually be witness to one. I can't believe how lucky I was that the semi didn't come completely into my lane. Would I have been able to avoid it? Probably, because I had enough room to slow down. But what if I had been driving just a little faster, or left a little earlier, and were hit by the huge chunks of debri? Scary thoughts.
This short article includes a picture to give you some idea of what it was like:
http://www.lex18.com/news/all-lanes-of-i-75-reopened-in-rockcastle-county-after-morning-semi-crash/
Why the title "Tally-Ho"? When we traveled to South Bend for the Avett Brother's concert, Christel noticed that just about every truck driver had a mustache. We made it into a game where we would shout "Tally-Ho!" when we saw a driver with a mustache. I wanted to title this blog "I Hate Semi's" but I shouldn't say that..
UPDATE:
The driver's condition has upgraded from "critical" to "serious." And this short article better explains the wreck: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/03/1656188/tractor-trailer-crash-closes-i.html#
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
A Spirit of Volunteerism in the Appalachian Mountains
Link to the Brescia Now article that I wrote back in November:
http://www.brescia.edu/_documents/winter2010.pdf
and as a bonus, I was sitting in my friend Amy's office the other day. She is the recruiter at CAP and in charge of the website. The following exchange occurred:
Amy: I just put a picture of you on the website.
Lynn: Aww, really?
Amy: Yeah, it's a bad one.
Thanks, Amy. Thanks so much.
http://christianapp.org/vol/our-values/service/family-advocacy/
PS. My friend Bridget left on Sunday. This photo makes me miss her:
http://christianapp.org/vol/our-values/community/
http://www.brescia.edu/_documents/winter2010.pdf
and as a bonus, I was sitting in my friend Amy's office the other day. She is the recruiter at CAP and in charge of the website. The following exchange occurred:
Amy: I just put a picture of you on the website.
Lynn: Aww, really?
Amy: Yeah, it's a bad one.
Thanks, Amy. Thanks so much.
http://christianapp.org/vol/our-values/service/family-advocacy/
PS. My friend Bridget left on Sunday. This photo makes me miss her:
http://christianapp.org/vol/our-values/community/
Monday, February 21, 2011
The First Moments of a Whole New World, Or, The End of Yelling
This past Friday I was in Richmond with Kristi, the Elderly caseworker, at EKU where Jim and Reecie were (finally!) getting their hearing aids. The hearing aids have been ready to go since December, but snow days have prevented it from happening. I'm happy to report that we have had spring weather all this week: usually breezy and damp, but also sunny. So we finally got to go.
Prior to this venture, an average conversation with Jim and Reecie meant a lot of screaming to get any point across. When the audiologist turned on Reecie's hearing aid, she automatically became more soft-spoken than I've ever heard her before. The whole ride back she spoke so quietly it was hard to hear her!
She got a little choked up (as she is wont to do) in the car ride home. She kept turning around to look at me and turning toward Kristi in the driver's seat and talking about how most youth today don't care about the elderly and it's nice to know that there are people like us out there... but like I said it was hard to hear her! What a change. Hopefully this will mean the end of their communication problems. The hearing aids will take getting used to, and Jim and Reecie have to go back to the audiologist in a couple weeks for a check-up, so the journey isn't quite over yet. I hope hearing aid batteries are covered by medical cards... I didn't realize how short their lifespan can be!
Prior to this venture, an average conversation with Jim and Reecie meant a lot of screaming to get any point across. When the audiologist turned on Reecie's hearing aid, she automatically became more soft-spoken than I've ever heard her before. The whole ride back she spoke so quietly it was hard to hear her!
She got a little choked up (as she is wont to do) in the car ride home. She kept turning around to look at me and turning toward Kristi in the driver's seat and talking about how most youth today don't care about the elderly and it's nice to know that there are people like us out there... but like I said it was hard to hear her! What a change. Hopefully this will mean the end of their communication problems. The hearing aids will take getting used to, and Jim and Reecie have to go back to the audiologist in a couple weeks for a check-up, so the journey isn't quite over yet. I hope hearing aid batteries are covered by medical cards... I didn't realize how short their lifespan can be!
A Home Visit (My Own!)
Last weekend (as in two weekends ago) Sr Robbie, Jenny, and I had a nice trip to Mad'ville. I was only in town for 24 hours and we were really busy the whole time with three Masses and a Knights of Columbus dinner plus loading up the van and Carol's car with diapers and detergent. It was kind of hard to leave because I wanted to spend a week at home at least. It seems that anytime I go home - for any amount of time - I want to stay there. And the longer my visit, the harder it is to leave. It's still really hard for me to comprehend that I won't really be living there again long-term. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that, since I have no idea what the future holds, but presumably I won't live there again. It's incredibly sad to think about. I'm also missing Owensboro, which unfortunately we weren't able to visit this time.
It was great to be back home in my own house and own bed. For some reason, I really appreciated everything much more than I ever had before. Even when I came home for two weeks at Christmas, I don't think it clicked. So whatever the reason (maybe because Sr. Robbie and Jenny were with me?) I just looked at my family and our house and our dog and our cat and our cars and our church community and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Growing up, it was easier for me to sense what people had that I didn't have, but now I'm much more attuned to the opposite.
This weekend I spent Saturday night at the Johnson House (more details to come in a later blog!). I was looking forward to a sleepover with my good Sandy Valley Region friend, Jessica. Caitlin dragged an extra mattress into Jessica's room for me and Jessica got it made up all nice for me. Then we hopped into bed, turned off the lights, and whispered in the dark. As Third Eye Blind (and Annie) say "Like a jazz DJ you talk me into sleep." I'd been waiting so long for it and it was awesome. One thing we talked about was home. Jessica is from New Jersey and she's looking forward to going home within the next few months. She said she misses her family and can't wait to be with them again. I feel similarly. I wouldn't call it homesickness, but some nights I just really start to wish that I was back in my home with all the space and quiet - not to mention family and pets. Living in community, I always have my public face on... like, some nights I just want to get up from the table when I'm done eating and go read or watch tv or whatever. But instead we wait for everyone to finish eating and then have devotion and clean up. It might not sound like much, but it's one of those day-in-day-out deals that can start to wear on some people. You don't get to live on your own time, you have to live by everyone else's.
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I love being at home, and it's been on my mind lately which is making me question another year of service. I've been seriously considering applying to a program on a Lakota reservation in South Dakota, but I'm terrified that being so far away from home for so long would be unbearable. On the other hand, moving home makes me feel a little like a failure. I'm conflicted for sure. Tonight we have a (boy!!) perspective volunteer. I was trying to read in the library/meditation room when he came in with his Bible. "Don't let me interrupt your reading," he said before talking my ear off for fifteen or twenty minutes. But no matter... in his conversation he made it very clear that he was allowing God to lead him wherever he is meant to go. He spoke of the peace he had about all this. I was jealous. I feel like this same notion keeps coming up over and over within the past few months, and yet I'm still unable to feel peaceful or to understand my next move. I don't know how the rest of them do it.
Stacey got into her top pick for grad school today, and Sara had a phone interview with a grad school. I'm very tempted to feel behind right now. I have to keep telling myself that everyone's path is different, but I often wonder if I'm just dragging my feet.
It was great to be back home in my own house and own bed. For some reason, I really appreciated everything much more than I ever had before. Even when I came home for two weeks at Christmas, I don't think it clicked. So whatever the reason (maybe because Sr. Robbie and Jenny were with me?) I just looked at my family and our house and our dog and our cat and our cars and our church community and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Growing up, it was easier for me to sense what people had that I didn't have, but now I'm much more attuned to the opposite.
This weekend I spent Saturday night at the Johnson House (more details to come in a later blog!). I was looking forward to a sleepover with my good Sandy Valley Region friend, Jessica. Caitlin dragged an extra mattress into Jessica's room for me and Jessica got it made up all nice for me. Then we hopped into bed, turned off the lights, and whispered in the dark. As Third Eye Blind (and Annie) say "Like a jazz DJ you talk me into sleep." I'd been waiting so long for it and it was awesome. One thing we talked about was home. Jessica is from New Jersey and she's looking forward to going home within the next few months. She said she misses her family and can't wait to be with them again. I feel similarly. I wouldn't call it homesickness, but some nights I just really start to wish that I was back in my home with all the space and quiet - not to mention family and pets. Living in community, I always have my public face on... like, some nights I just want to get up from the table when I'm done eating and go read or watch tv or whatever. But instead we wait for everyone to finish eating and then have devotion and clean up. It might not sound like much, but it's one of those day-in-day-out deals that can start to wear on some people. You don't get to live on your own time, you have to live by everyone else's.
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I love being at home, and it's been on my mind lately which is making me question another year of service. I've been seriously considering applying to a program on a Lakota reservation in South Dakota, but I'm terrified that being so far away from home for so long would be unbearable. On the other hand, moving home makes me feel a little like a failure. I'm conflicted for sure. Tonight we have a (boy!!) perspective volunteer. I was trying to read in the library/meditation room when he came in with his Bible. "Don't let me interrupt your reading," he said before talking my ear off for fifteen or twenty minutes. But no matter... in his conversation he made it very clear that he was allowing God to lead him wherever he is meant to go. He spoke of the peace he had about all this. I was jealous. I feel like this same notion keeps coming up over and over within the past few months, and yet I'm still unable to feel peaceful or to understand my next move. I don't know how the rest of them do it.
Stacey got into her top pick for grad school today, and Sara had a phone interview with a grad school. I'm very tempted to feel behind right now. I have to keep telling myself that everyone's path is different, but I often wonder if I'm just dragging my feet.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
A Letter to Christ the King Parish
Tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting - Will winter ever end??) I will be driving home to Hopkins County with Sr. Robbie Pentecost and Jenny. We'll be speaking at CTK school and church and may also swing by Brescia to distribute some materials. Last week I was asked to write something for the church bulletin and here is what I came up with:
Dear Christ the King Family,
I can hardly believe it, but I’m about to celebrate my seventh month of service with the Christian Appalachian Project. For seven months I’ve been volunteering as the Family Advocacy caseworker in Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky (about 20 minutes south of Berea). I primarily provide emergency material and financial assistance to low-income families, with long-term emotional support through financial education, home visits, and referral to other CAP programs. However, I also oversee several seasonal programs (Small Farms and Gardens, Women’s Retreat, School Readiness, and Christmas Baskets) and have the opportunity to help out with other CAP programs from time to time, particularly in Housing.
What drew me to CAP is the fact that these are our fellow Kentuckians. Sometimes it’s as if an unseen barrier divides the eastern and western parts of the state. Being one of the very few native Kentuckians at CAP, I have had a much easier time adjusting to the language (The partiality toward the word “you’uns” rather than “y’all” being the only major difference.) and culture than my (mostly Northern and Midwestern) housemates. During my first week at CAP, one of my mentors from college told me in an email that no experience worth having is easy. This has certainly been the case with CAP.
There have been days when everything feels disarrayed and full of chaos. It’s not always easy dealing with people in a crisis. Some people take their anger out on you while others weep and tell you their life story. A woman called me once for help on her utility bill. For various reasons I was unable to assist her and she told me that I probably didn’t know what it was like to not have electricity or to go to bed without heat. Another time a woman I was helping cried and told me that she’d prayed they would shut off her electric while her toddler was out of the house because she didn’t know how to explain it to him. She’d taken all her perishable food out of her refrigerator and given it to a neighbor to store, but the neighbor wouldn’t give any of it back to her. When I handed her the check for fifty dollars, she hugged me and said “God bless you.” But I didn’t feel like any sort of a hero. I felt like throwing up.
There have also been days full of joy – like the week I watched a group of college students give up their break to help build a porch and ramp for an elderly couple particularly close to my heart. The lady stood on her porch and cried. That same lady often tells me that she loves me and all the CAP volunteers; that she considers us all her children. Another participant always ends a phone conversation or visit by telling me that she loves me. I didn’t ever expect this kind of reaction when I pictured my year with CAP.
I also didn’t imagine how close I’d become to the other volunteers serving Appalachia. I’ve met some of my best friends here, and I wouldn’t trade my experiences with them for the world. I’ve learned skills I never expected to have. I’m now certified to use a chainsaw, and have used more power tools in the past seven months than I have in the past seven years. I drive a truck daily – something I thought I’d never do. I’ve learned job skills that I know will benefit me no matter what I go on to do after CAP.
In closing, I have to thank my family, and my greater CTK family, for instilling the values that have led me to this service. During our fall retreat we were all asked to make road maps of our life, indicating experiences and people that led us to CAP. One of the very first things I wrote down was my involvement at CTK church and school. I think it’s crucial that the youth of CTK continue to be involved in awareness, advocacy, and service to all manner of poverty (i.e. ignorance, financial poverty, social injustice, loneliness), and that you as the parents and leaders seek out opportunities to introduce our children and teens serving the needs of the community.
Lynn Hardesty
Christ the King School ‘02
Dear Christ the King Family,
I can hardly believe it, but I’m about to celebrate my seventh month of service with the Christian Appalachian Project. For seven months I’ve been volunteering as the Family Advocacy caseworker in Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky (about 20 minutes south of Berea). I primarily provide emergency material and financial assistance to low-income families, with long-term emotional support through financial education, home visits, and referral to other CAP programs. However, I also oversee several seasonal programs (Small Farms and Gardens, Women’s Retreat, School Readiness, and Christmas Baskets) and have the opportunity to help out with other CAP programs from time to time, particularly in Housing.
What drew me to CAP is the fact that these are our fellow Kentuckians. Sometimes it’s as if an unseen barrier divides the eastern and western parts of the state. Being one of the very few native Kentuckians at CAP, I have had a much easier time adjusting to the language (The partiality toward the word “you’uns” rather than “y’all” being the only major difference.) and culture than my (mostly Northern and Midwestern) housemates. During my first week at CAP, one of my mentors from college told me in an email that no experience worth having is easy. This has certainly been the case with CAP.
There have been days when everything feels disarrayed and full of chaos. It’s not always easy dealing with people in a crisis. Some people take their anger out on you while others weep and tell you their life story. A woman called me once for help on her utility bill. For various reasons I was unable to assist her and she told me that I probably didn’t know what it was like to not have electricity or to go to bed without heat. Another time a woman I was helping cried and told me that she’d prayed they would shut off her electric while her toddler was out of the house because she didn’t know how to explain it to him. She’d taken all her perishable food out of her refrigerator and given it to a neighbor to store, but the neighbor wouldn’t give any of it back to her. When I handed her the check for fifty dollars, she hugged me and said “God bless you.” But I didn’t feel like any sort of a hero. I felt like throwing up.
There have also been days full of joy – like the week I watched a group of college students give up their break to help build a porch and ramp for an elderly couple particularly close to my heart. The lady stood on her porch and cried. That same lady often tells me that she loves me and all the CAP volunteers; that she considers us all her children. Another participant always ends a phone conversation or visit by telling me that she loves me. I didn’t ever expect this kind of reaction when I pictured my year with CAP.
I also didn’t imagine how close I’d become to the other volunteers serving Appalachia. I’ve met some of my best friends here, and I wouldn’t trade my experiences with them for the world. I’ve learned skills I never expected to have. I’m now certified to use a chainsaw, and have used more power tools in the past seven months than I have in the past seven years. I drive a truck daily – something I thought I’d never do. I’ve learned job skills that I know will benefit me no matter what I go on to do after CAP.
In closing, I have to thank my family, and my greater CTK family, for instilling the values that have led me to this service. During our fall retreat we were all asked to make road maps of our life, indicating experiences and people that led us to CAP. One of the very first things I wrote down was my involvement at CTK church and school. I think it’s crucial that the youth of CTK continue to be involved in awareness, advocacy, and service to all manner of poverty (i.e. ignorance, financial poverty, social injustice, loneliness), and that you as the parents and leaders seek out opportunities to introduce our children and teens serving the needs of the community.
Lynn Hardesty
Christ the King School ‘02
Saturday, February 5, 2011
From the Hollers to Sophisticated Fighting Irish and Back
It's a varied life that I've led (and lead). The wealthy people I've known, the poor people I've known. The grand places I've been, the shacks that I've been in. It seems strange. It also seems strange that I can't share my Part 1 with my Part 3. Read on to understand:
Part 1:
Last weekend a group of us journeyed all the way to South Bend, IN for an Avett Brothers concert. It was a 6-7 hour car ride and my car spent the majority of the time playing Twinkie and counting the number of mustaches we saw on other drivers. We also saw a woman air-drumming her steering wheel with a toothbrush in hand, and a female truck driver wearing a hijab. We drove through Peru and Kokomo ("We'll get there fast, then we'll take it slow") and saw a big red arrow that said "MEXICO - 1/2 MILE"
We were lucky enough to stay at Annie's relatives for free that night. The house was much grander than what we are accustomed to. We explored the house, and called out to each other as we got lost. As our Notre Dame connection, Trevor Monster gave us a tour of campus and fun facts before Mass at the Basilica (such as: There is more French stained glass in Notre Dame's basilica than in all of France). We then picked our way through the bookstore (after first marveling at a very well constructed igloo outside of a dorm), trying to find the most ridiculous item boasting the Notre Dame logo. Top picks: spatula, golf tees, and a dog's chew toy and bone.
Part 2:
This week was orientation for the new volunteers. On Thursday I rode out east with the McCreary house for commissioning. The ceremony was nice, and much shorter than mine since there were only seven volunteers this time around as opposed to our near-30 group. After the service there's always pizza and coke and brownies and we had ourselves a nice little feast while catching up with everyone. I don't often get to see people from the east side, so it was great to see some of my friends and talk with them. We ended up staying way later than we'd planned, because we had to swing by Johnson house to pick something up and that turned into a two-hour chat fest. We didn't leave til 8 or so, and we still had a two and a half hour drive back. It'd been months since I'd seen most of the east side, and being with them unearthed these old buried feelings of being a part of the greater CAP community. Of course I see people from other west side houses nearly every weekend, but it is rare for both sides to be together, so it's always special when it happens.
Today (Friday) a couple interesting things happened. A man brought in a powder blue toilet "as payback." (His idea, not mine). It is currently sitting in the lobby of my office, waiting for a home. Secondly, I was putting out donated books on this bookshelf we got recently, and I came across a Scientology book. It had a creepy looking sketch of an old man's face and at the bottom said, "SCIENTOLOGY IS HERE TO RESCUE YOU". I felt weird displaying it, so I threw it in the recycle bin for paper. I always have the weirdest things happen to me on Fridays.
Part 3:
Today I was planning on visiting five people, but they all fell through except for one. Still, it was a nice visit, though a little strange. I wasn't invited inside, because the children would be all over me, according to the lady of the house. I caught glimpses of them often, peering at us while we sat at the picnic table in the backyard. They all appeared to be shirtless and their hair was all over the place.
I've helped this family once before. I knew they had seven children and that the babies, twins, had been born prematurely this fall. The mother informed me today that they have a rare genetic disease, and one of the young ones has been diagnosed with Autism, and by the way, they didn't used to live like this. That's really the thing about it: You tend to get in the mindset that all these people were born and raised in poverty because most of them are, and it's just a cycle. But there have been a good number who used to have good jobs and didn't used to be living hand to mouth. Like the woman said today, "It's hard to go from giving charity to receiving it." While we talked a long-haired, tortoise shell, neighborhood cat continued to rub all over us and lick my hand. She reminded me of my cat. By the fence, on the property line, the neighbors' horses came right up, looking to be petted. Next time I will remember to bring some carrots.
Another one of my participants came in today. I hadn't seen her in forever, and now I've been seeing her a lot lately. She's been filling me in on her life like we're old friends. In reality, we've really only had three conversations or so. I like her a lot. She's only three years older than me, but she's raising like five kids, with a baby on the way, plus her two younger brothers, and her husband's young daughter (from a previous marriage) may be moving in soon. She told me that she lived in foster care after her grandmother died. Her social worker didn't look in on her, and she claims to have been beaten by her foster parents if she did try to contact anyone. She got pregnant her senior year and dropped out in April without graduating because she couldn't stand the social stigma. She just got her GED a few days ago. Now she and her husband (who also just got his GED) are attending Somerset Community College. She says she wants to help people, and is currently pursuing a career as a probation officer.
A couple weeks ago I had another visit that I wanted to blog about and never did. This was an elderly lady who claims to have raised half the county because she took in so many children who didn't have anywhere else to go. She lost three of her sons within two years. Two were murdered, and the third committed suicide because he was so depressed over the loss of his brothers.
Something I've noticed: the elderly seem to handle poverty with a certain grace that the younger generations lack. Perhaps because they grew up with it; perhaps because the rich-poor divide was not as great back then; I don't know.
All three of these women are signed up for our Small Farms and Gardens program which is new this year. We're partnering with the local high school to grow transplants. I will provide support through home visits, and hopefully we'll have some canning classes after harvest. I've been making my rounds to see people and get them signed up, and I love it, because home visits are when you really get to know a person. There aren't many guards up and you get to see how people live. I'm really looking forward to continuing to get to know my Gardening participants. We've got a really good group so far!
But as much as I love talking to these participants, particularly the younger lady and the elderly lady, how can I tell them about my weekend in Notre Dame? It seems wrong somehow. What opportunity will they ever have to go there? For many, it's hard enough to get gas money to see me in town. How would they make the six hour journey? I think I've always compartmentalized myself, but it is even more apparent in Appalachia.
Part 1:
Last weekend a group of us journeyed all the way to South Bend, IN for an Avett Brothers concert. It was a 6-7 hour car ride and my car spent the majority of the time playing Twinkie and counting the number of mustaches we saw on other drivers. We also saw a woman air-drumming her steering wheel with a toothbrush in hand, and a female truck driver wearing a hijab. We drove through Peru and Kokomo ("We'll get there fast, then we'll take it slow") and saw a big red arrow that said "MEXICO - 1/2 MILE"
We were lucky enough to stay at Annie's relatives for free that night. The house was much grander than what we are accustomed to. We explored the house, and called out to each other as we got lost. As our Notre Dame connection, Trevor Monster gave us a tour of campus and fun facts before Mass at the Basilica (such as: There is more French stained glass in Notre Dame's basilica than in all of France). We then picked our way through the bookstore (after first marveling at a very well constructed igloo outside of a dorm), trying to find the most ridiculous item boasting the Notre Dame logo. Top picks: spatula, golf tees, and a dog's chew toy and bone.
Part 2:
This week was orientation for the new volunteers. On Thursday I rode out east with the McCreary house for commissioning. The ceremony was nice, and much shorter than mine since there were only seven volunteers this time around as opposed to our near-30 group. After the service there's always pizza and coke and brownies and we had ourselves a nice little feast while catching up with everyone. I don't often get to see people from the east side, so it was great to see some of my friends and talk with them. We ended up staying way later than we'd planned, because we had to swing by Johnson house to pick something up and that turned into a two-hour chat fest. We didn't leave til 8 or so, and we still had a two and a half hour drive back. It'd been months since I'd seen most of the east side, and being with them unearthed these old buried feelings of being a part of the greater CAP community. Of course I see people from other west side houses nearly every weekend, but it is rare for both sides to be together, so it's always special when it happens.
Today (Friday) a couple interesting things happened. A man brought in a powder blue toilet "as payback." (His idea, not mine). It is currently sitting in the lobby of my office, waiting for a home. Secondly, I was putting out donated books on this bookshelf we got recently, and I came across a Scientology book. It had a creepy looking sketch of an old man's face and at the bottom said, "SCIENTOLOGY IS HERE TO RESCUE YOU". I felt weird displaying it, so I threw it in the recycle bin for paper. I always have the weirdest things happen to me on Fridays.
Part 3:
Today I was planning on visiting five people, but they all fell through except for one. Still, it was a nice visit, though a little strange. I wasn't invited inside, because the children would be all over me, according to the lady of the house. I caught glimpses of them often, peering at us while we sat at the picnic table in the backyard. They all appeared to be shirtless and their hair was all over the place.
I've helped this family once before. I knew they had seven children and that the babies, twins, had been born prematurely this fall. The mother informed me today that they have a rare genetic disease, and one of the young ones has been diagnosed with Autism, and by the way, they didn't used to live like this. That's really the thing about it: You tend to get in the mindset that all these people were born and raised in poverty because most of them are, and it's just a cycle. But there have been a good number who used to have good jobs and didn't used to be living hand to mouth. Like the woman said today, "It's hard to go from giving charity to receiving it." While we talked a long-haired, tortoise shell, neighborhood cat continued to rub all over us and lick my hand. She reminded me of my cat. By the fence, on the property line, the neighbors' horses came right up, looking to be petted. Next time I will remember to bring some carrots.
Another one of my participants came in today. I hadn't seen her in forever, and now I've been seeing her a lot lately. She's been filling me in on her life like we're old friends. In reality, we've really only had three conversations or so. I like her a lot. She's only three years older than me, but she's raising like five kids, with a baby on the way, plus her two younger brothers, and her husband's young daughter (from a previous marriage) may be moving in soon. She told me that she lived in foster care after her grandmother died. Her social worker didn't look in on her, and she claims to have been beaten by her foster parents if she did try to contact anyone. She got pregnant her senior year and dropped out in April without graduating because she couldn't stand the social stigma. She just got her GED a few days ago. Now she and her husband (who also just got his GED) are attending Somerset Community College. She says she wants to help people, and is currently pursuing a career as a probation officer.
A couple weeks ago I had another visit that I wanted to blog about and never did. This was an elderly lady who claims to have raised half the county because she took in so many children who didn't have anywhere else to go. She lost three of her sons within two years. Two were murdered, and the third committed suicide because he was so depressed over the loss of his brothers.
Something I've noticed: the elderly seem to handle poverty with a certain grace that the younger generations lack. Perhaps because they grew up with it; perhaps because the rich-poor divide was not as great back then; I don't know.
All three of these women are signed up for our Small Farms and Gardens program which is new this year. We're partnering with the local high school to grow transplants. I will provide support through home visits, and hopefully we'll have some canning classes after harvest. I've been making my rounds to see people and get them signed up, and I love it, because home visits are when you really get to know a person. There aren't many guards up and you get to see how people live. I'm really looking forward to continuing to get to know my Gardening participants. We've got a really good group so far!
But as much as I love talking to these participants, particularly the younger lady and the elderly lady, how can I tell them about my weekend in Notre Dame? It seems wrong somehow. What opportunity will they ever have to go there? For many, it's hard enough to get gas money to see me in town. How would they make the six hour journey? I think I've always compartmentalized myself, but it is even more apparent in Appalachia.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Winter in Appalachia = Ice, Snow, and Mud
First a recap of the weekend:
On Friday I went into the office at one o'clock because it had snowed the night before and the roads weren't clear in the morning. Shanna had already planned to come up and work with me, so she came in a little later. After work we went to Berea and Richmond to have dinner and kill some time before meeting up with Jen and Amy (two former volunteers, now CAP employees) at the movies. We saw The King's Speech which was very good. Then on Saturday the Rockcastle House celebrated Stacey's bday in Richmond, and I got to know the newest McCreary housemate, Megan (Yes, there are two Megan's on the west side now. Very confusing). Sunday I went hiking at the Pinnacles outside Berea with Carl and Sarah.
On Friday I went into the office at one o'clock because it had snowed the night before and the roads weren't clear in the morning. Shanna had already planned to come up and work with me, so she came in a little later. After work we went to Berea and Richmond to have dinner and kill some time before meeting up with Jen and Amy (two former volunteers, now CAP employees) at the movies. We saw The King's Speech which was very good. Then on Saturday the Rockcastle House celebrated Stacey's bday in Richmond, and I got to know the newest McCreary housemate, Megan (Yes, there are two Megan's on the west side now. Very confusing). Sunday I went hiking at the Pinnacles outside Berea with Carl and Sarah.Lately work has been pretty slow, but luckily the Jackson crew came by this afternoon to look at a possible work site in Rockcastle County. I love it when any of the Housing crews come to visit as it breaks up the monotony of the day and they're always good for a laugh. I love all the Housing volunteers and crew leaders. And today Rachel (a recent volunteer) was traveling with them, which made the visit extra special and fun. The participant is living in his mother's home with his 2 year old daughter while he works on building a small home further back on the property. We had to go over and look at the house which meant walking several yards through nothing but mud. Unfortunately, when this day started I had no idea I'd be traipsing through mud and I didn't wear my boots. It was a legitimate sea of mud. Needless to say, we all had very muddy feet and pant legs by the time we got to the house. While walking back, Rachel said how funny it would be if I just faceplanted in the mud. I almost wished I (or someone else) had, just so there Rachel would have a hilarious last CAP story before starting her new job post-CAP.
The Jackson crew goes by the moniker "The Easy Crew" complete with coordinating nicknames: Big Easy, Easy Money, and Easy Button. For months now I've been begging Ross for my own Easy Crew nickname. Today I got it, but it wasn't one I was expecting. I am now known within the Easy Crew as Muddy Buddy.
Well, we're expecting 3-5 inches of wet snow tonight, so I'm planning on being grounded at least tomorrow morning and probably all day. Hopefully it will all clear up by Friday though because I have big plans this weekend - traveling to South Bend, IN with a bunch of CAP friends to see the Avett Brothers in concert.
And I'll end with this: Monica is a CAP volunteer at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Jackson County. This was her Facebook status tonight - "There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good."
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Berea Holler
I really slacked off on blogging, and I hate that. One of my resolutions for 2011 is to be more consistent about blogging even if it's only once every other week. Now before I begin the story of the Berea Holler I'd like to do a quick wrapup of 2010. It was certainly a momentous year for me:
- Graduated from a college I loved and was honored with a few different awards
- Fulfilled a lifelong dream when I traveled to Europe, had adventures, made some awesome friends (you know who you are, Wolf Pack!), and saw lots of wonderful things (Thanks, Mom and Dad!!)
- Moved across the state and began volunteering with CAP, which entailed making even more wonderful and supportive friends, having even more adventures, and learning tons of new skills (including driving a truck, killing a mouse, and using power tools such as a chainsaw, circular saw, and nail gun.)
I can only hope that 2011 is as fun as 2010 was!
Now, the Berea Holler.
Most people who've been to Berea, KY will tell you that it is not really mountainous at all and not quite part of Appalachia. Shanna Rose would disagree with you.
My Friday was full of trainings: Bloodborne Pathogens, CPR, and First Aid. It was kinda boring, but also fun because almost all the housing volunteers had to be there as well. I had fun laughing with them while we practiced rescue breathes and chest compressions on our dummies. There had been a dusting of snow, but the roads were fine, so Shanna and Janean from McCreary drove up in the afternoon. Shanna and I went to Blackfeathers to figure out what we're going to do post-CAP. I still have no clue, but at least Shanna seems to have a vision. Blackfeathers is a cool little coffeeshop in Berea that is overrun with hipsters. Then we had dinner with Seth at Papaleno's which is another cool little Berea eatery. It began to snow while we were talking and, before we knew it, it was 10:30 and the snow was coming down thick and fast. It was beautiful, but we realized that we had better be heading to our houses.
It's a somewhat confusing story, but Seth didn't want to drive his car back because he'd already gotten stuck that day out in the country. So he called Annie who was driving Jane back from the airport and got them to stop in Berea, but he wanted Shanna and I to drop him off at this gas station so it wouldn't be too out of the way for them. So we do that and say hi to Annie, Ian, and Jane. The only problem was that we were now at the bottom of this steep hill covered with packed snow and a little ice with no other way out of Berea. Shanna tried to drive up it several times (even in 4 wheel drive) but we just couldn't get out. We were two Southern girls in a Toyota Camry who had no experience driving on snow or ice.
I could tell Shanna was majorly stressing. I tried to stay calm and called Carl who I knew was able to drive on snow and ice since he's from the North. He said he'd drive out to us and I said we'd walk to the top of the hill. I didn't want to risk Carl getting stuck too. I convinced Shanna to park in a nearby residential neighborhood and we proceeded to walk up the Hill from Hell and through Berea College. We must have walked a mile or more in the snow at 11:30. Shanna wasn't thrilled of course, and I can understand why; I wouldn't have wanted to leave my car overnight either. But still, I was actually having fun. It was quite the adventure and moving helped us stay warm. I told Shanna it was like we were pioneers and now we could appreciate what the first Appalachians went through. At one point we were walking along silently and we both just started laughing hysterically at nothing at all. It was just that sort of night.
Eventually we met up with Carl, looking like a couple of refugees with freezing feet, and got back home safely. Carl took us out the next morning to pick up the car and all the roads (including the Berea Holler Hill from Hell) were completely clear. I'm thankful that Shanna's car was uninjured and that we didn't end up sliding off the road or into anyone on Friday night. And I'm so glad that I got to spend an entire weekend with Shanna since she and Janean slept over Friday and Saturday nights. I know that the Berea Holler story, though one that Shanna doesn't enjoy as much as me, will always be one that I remember and cherish.
- Graduated from a college I loved and was honored with a few different awards
- Fulfilled a lifelong dream when I traveled to Europe, had adventures, made some awesome friends (you know who you are, Wolf Pack!), and saw lots of wonderful things (Thanks, Mom and Dad!!)
- Moved across the state and began volunteering with CAP, which entailed making even more wonderful and supportive friends, having even more adventures, and learning tons of new skills (including driving a truck, killing a mouse, and using power tools such as a chainsaw, circular saw, and nail gun.)
I can only hope that 2011 is as fun as 2010 was!
Now, the Berea Holler.
Most people who've been to Berea, KY will tell you that it is not really mountainous at all and not quite part of Appalachia. Shanna Rose would disagree with you.
My Friday was full of trainings: Bloodborne Pathogens, CPR, and First Aid. It was kinda boring, but also fun because almost all the housing volunteers had to be there as well. I had fun laughing with them while we practiced rescue breathes and chest compressions on our dummies. There had been a dusting of snow, but the roads were fine, so Shanna and Janean from McCreary drove up in the afternoon. Shanna and I went to Blackfeathers to figure out what we're going to do post-CAP. I still have no clue, but at least Shanna seems to have a vision. Blackfeathers is a cool little coffeeshop in Berea that is overrun with hipsters. Then we had dinner with Seth at Papaleno's which is another cool little Berea eatery. It began to snow while we were talking and, before we knew it, it was 10:30 and the snow was coming down thick and fast. It was beautiful, but we realized that we had better be heading to our houses.
It's a somewhat confusing story, but Seth didn't want to drive his car back because he'd already gotten stuck that day out in the country. So he called Annie who was driving Jane back from the airport and got them to stop in Berea, but he wanted Shanna and I to drop him off at this gas station so it wouldn't be too out of the way for them. So we do that and say hi to Annie, Ian, and Jane. The only problem was that we were now at the bottom of this steep hill covered with packed snow and a little ice with no other way out of Berea. Shanna tried to drive up it several times (even in 4 wheel drive) but we just couldn't get out. We were two Southern girls in a Toyota Camry who had no experience driving on snow or ice.
I could tell Shanna was majorly stressing. I tried to stay calm and called Carl who I knew was able to drive on snow and ice since he's from the North. He said he'd drive out to us and I said we'd walk to the top of the hill. I didn't want to risk Carl getting stuck too. I convinced Shanna to park in a nearby residential neighborhood and we proceeded to walk up the Hill from Hell and through Berea College. We must have walked a mile or more in the snow at 11:30. Shanna wasn't thrilled of course, and I can understand why; I wouldn't have wanted to leave my car overnight either. But still, I was actually having fun. It was quite the adventure and moving helped us stay warm. I told Shanna it was like we were pioneers and now we could appreciate what the first Appalachians went through. At one point we were walking along silently and we both just started laughing hysterically at nothing at all. It was just that sort of night.
Eventually we met up with Carl, looking like a couple of refugees with freezing feet, and got back home safely. Carl took us out the next morning to pick up the car and all the roads (including the Berea Holler Hill from Hell) were completely clear. I'm thankful that Shanna's car was uninjured and that we didn't end up sliding off the road or into anyone on Friday night. And I'm so glad that I got to spend an entire weekend with Shanna since she and Janean slept over Friday and Saturday nights. I know that the Berea Holler story, though one that Shanna doesn't enjoy as much as me, will always be one that I remember and cherish.
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