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Corn on the Cob

I was handed three cobs of corn this week while hanging out in a parkette. This was to be added to a growing number of cobs in the fridge at 201 Cowan Avenue, the building that we consider The Dale’s ground zero. Every cob has come from the same community member, someone who is at nearly everything we do, including our monthly potluck.

The potluck is something that we relaunched just this year after a long pandemic-forced hiatus. The invitation is always the same: bring something to contribute as you are able, whether it be a bag of chips from the Dollar Store or something you cook. We will pile together whatever we get (we never prescribe what to bring) and turn it into a feast. 

I am often reminded of the story of Stone Soup when thinking of this gathering. The folk tale is about a traveler who enters a village looking for a safe place to sleep and a hot meal. The villagers can offer a bed but because of a poor crop they have very little to eat and are just getting by. The traveler offers to make stone soup, something unheard of in the village. He asks for a pot, some water and wood to start a fire. He drops a special stone into the pot, smells the aroma and mentions that stone soup is even better with a bit of cabbage. By the end of the story the villagers all contribute whatever bits they each have- cabbage, a carrot, a handful of mushrooms, creating an amazing soup that they all share. 

Apparently, there is a grocery store in Parkdale right now that is selling corn for a great price. This sparked the imagination of our community member, who felt they could manage to gather together enough change to buy and contribute corn to the next potluck. I have agreed to make sure it is cooked and will also be bringing butter and salt. I love the look on our friend’s face every time they manage to bring a little bit more. It reminds me how necessary it is for every person to have opportunity to give. 

I get handed a real variety of things on the street. I can honestly say that before this week, corn was never one of them. I’m really looking forward to a steaming platter of corn being added to the table, all thanks to our friend. In the Stone Soup story there was more than enough for everyone to eat their fill and afterward they declared it was the best soup they had ever tasted. Hopefully the corn and everything else that fills out the meal will hit the spot in the same way. 

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More Than Just Our Challenges

We chatted briefly one Saturday morning. She was sitting on her walker across the street, looking intently at the meal-to-go we were doing uncharacteristically on the weekend. We had met before on a few occasions but didn’t yet know one another’s names. As we conversed, I learned a little about her life and some of the hardships she faces. “I am more than just my challenges. I really want to do something. I would like to volunteer”. 

Today Maria (I have permission to use her name and tell this story) came to participate at our Breakfast. For a long time, our friend/core community member Ash was the one to hand out the meals, freeing the staff team to connect with people and stand in and with the line. Since Ash’s death, we have longed for someone to assume his role. He so embodied it, that to this day we say, “who wants to Ash today?” Well, on this morning the role went to Maria. 

At The Dale, we talk a lot about how important it is to both give and receive. We invite people into full participation of the community and celebrate that we have a shared responsibility for it. Too often people are robbed of the opportunity to give by being kept on the receiving end of charity. Everyone though has gifts to offer. 

While the line was still active, I went over to Maria to see how she was doing. Her response? “Today I feel like a real person. I love this”. Her whole demeanor softened as she greeted people and handed over brown paper bags of breakfast sandwiches, muffins, juice boxes and fruit. Many people she knew by name, having lived in the neighbourhood for many years. I asked her if I could take her picture, to which she said an emphatic, “yes, please!”

As the breakfast rush slowed, another person encouraged us to close our eyes and soak in the morning sunshine. With our heads back we collectively noticed how good it felt to pause and feel the warmth. Maria watched and reminded us that looking up at the moon and the stars, “is just as beautiful as looking at the sun”. I thought of that as the moon made its appearance tonight. As I again tilted my head back, what came immediately to mind was Maria’s contented face. May we all know, as she does, that we are more than just our challenges. 

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Snippets of Stories from the Street

There is a lot of life that happens at The Dale which goes unseen by most. Sometimes it’s easiest to explain what we are doing in broad strokes, but the heartbeat of this place is maybe most evident in our conversations, brief encounters, and surprising moments. Like these: 

Joanna and I were walking along Queen St one recent morning. We spotted a friend sitting under a tree beside a fast food place, eagerly eating cherries from a grey plastic bag. Unable to initially understand what she was offering, we came to realize that she wanted to gift us the remainder of her bounty, “take them, sanitize them, and enjoy them”. 

He reminds us of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh most days (and he knows it). Imagine almost every sentence spoken sounding like, “oh bother”. On this day he arrived, explaining that he needed to tell me something. Next thing I knew he produced a gift card that had been received as a birthday present. “This is for you people. I don’t have much, but I do have this to give”.

As we approached a group of friends, one asked me to join him on the opposite corner. Together we bent our heads by a sidewalk chalk memorial for a person who died in an untimely and unnecessary manner. A flower and sacred tobacco had been added to one spot, somehow not disturbed by the wind. He felt grateful that nothing had blown away, adding that this offered some comfort, especially given that no funeral was immediately possible. 

We now have a handwashing station that stands near the table from which we hand out food. I am reminded to not take access to water for granted every time a person steps up to use it. I can’t shake the image of one individual who washed their hands carefully and methodically three times in a row because it “felt so good”. 

A person we don’t know pulled up in a car packed with boxes of t-shirts to donate, all locally screen printed. We’re talking hundreds of shirts, an amount that at first was almost overwhelming. Since, we have distributed stacks and stacks of them. You know that feeling when you get to put on brand-new piece of clothing? Think of that as you picture our friends, many of whom are surviving on so little, getting something completely fresh. It’s dignifying. 

It is often when a person gets to join us, either for a neighbourhood walk, a drop-in, or a Sunday service that I hear, “now I really get what this place is about”. Describing life at The Dale in all its fullness can be a challenge. There are moments like I’ve described above. There are also messy disagreements, crisis that requires de-escalation, raucous conversation, and times when no words seem adequate. There is deep grief over broken systems and frustration at inequality. There is also a deep and abiding sense that we have been called to journey this life together, and that Hope can and will meet us on the way.