Thursday This and That

Prayer, the basic exercise of the spirit, must be actively practiced in our private lives.

The neglected soul of the human being must be made strong enough to assert itself once more.

For if the power of prayer is again released and used in the lives of common men and women;

if the spirit declares its aims clearly and boldly, there is yet hope

that our prayers for a better world will be answered.

Alexis Carrel

Ah, I haven't done a this and that in awhile now.  Walpurgis Night was a huge success.  The food was wonderful, and even hubby, the diehard Dominican who loves his rice and beans had to admit that German food is pretty good.  I only wish I hadn't had to work on May Day because it would have been very nice to have gone to the park and spent some time in nature.  Oh, well, next year.  

This month I will have my biopsy, and I am really focusing on positive thought.  Last night, though, I just broke down and sobbed, for myself as well as hubby's cousin.  I think I've mentioned her before. The three of us used to smoke together, we all quit together, we stayed stopped, she picked up again.  The next we heard she had advanced lung cancer.  From what we'd heard, she'd come through the treatments well and was in remission.  That was only a little over a month ago.  Now, we learned that the cancer had spread throughout her body, and she's in  the hospital with, at the most, two weeks left. She is on life support now.  First of all, I have to ask, how can doctor's fail to see that cancer has spread like that?  How can they give her and her family such false hope, only to have it so horribly taken away? I mourn the beautiful person that she was.

Remember back a few months ago when I mentioned that client who raised his fist at me? Well, we got word the other day that he was convicted of assault and received a 1 1/2 to 3 year prison sentence.  I shudder when I think of how close I came to being one of his victims. I understand, also, that another of our clients went off in the shelter over the weekend and beat up two staff members, a male and a female.  He's locked up as well.  These instance only serve to reinforce my need to get out of there.  Next time I may not be so lucky. 

Next month the organization will be taking them on the annual trip to Rye Playland. I don't go.  I prefer a nice quiet day back at the office. The agency takes hundreds of clients from all our different programs every year.  They actually 'buy' the place for the day. Buses  are chartered for the trip, and once there, the clients are treated to a barbecue, all you can eat, and then all the rides and shows are free.  It must really cost a pretty penny, and not that I begrudge the clients, it would be nice to do something nice for staff once in awhile.  No one can tell me they're not raking in the bucks, not with all the new contracts they are getting.  A  so-called not-for-profit agency for the homeless, ours is the largest in the city.  We have 3 men's shelters, an assessment shelter, a detox, a medical clinic, a working shelter, a woman's shelter, the substance abuse program, housing programs, a case management program, and about 35 transitional housing sites. 

Besides, these are not the clients of the past.  The clients now are more interested in getting hold of their K2.  For those who don't know, it's a synthetic form of marijuana which is far more dangerous.  In my opinion, there lies the source of the unpredictable, violent behaviors of some of our clients.

As I announced the above trip to my group today, I realized that April had come and gone in a flash.  One day it was here, and almost overnight it was gone. In fact, it went by so fast that I hardly have any memories of it. That's kind of sad.  (Sigh)

And with that, I guess it's time to get ready.  Another day beckons.  Wishing you all a fantastic day.  I leave you with the following....

This morning I stood on the river bank to pray. I knew then that the ancient ones

were wise to pray for peace and beauty and not for specific gifts except fertility

which is continued life. And I saw that if one has even a small degree of the ability

to take into and unto him or herself the peace and beauty that God surrounds them with,

it is not necessary to ask for more.

Edith Wharton