Restart Day 5

Friday, March 13, 2015
Kansas City, Kansas, United States
We woke up early this morning and hit up Lowe's at 6:45am to get some seeds to plant in our Marquette dirt in the sisters' yard. We chose morning glories because they're Marquette colors. We came back in time for breakfast, and we said our goodbyes to Mal after the meal (she left this morning for North Carolina). After her send off we headed out ourselves. We met Joe as we were walking in; he was charging his generator to help start his car to head out to his VA meeting. After a while, Sammi showed up and offered to jump start his car, which worked great. After he got on his way, we headed inside and talked to Sammi for a bit which ended up being an hour and a half. We just got into the more complex details of Restart and how she came to work there. We learned a ton and discussed the injustices that are allowed to exist in today's American society, from the justice system to welfare. After that very interesting talk, we headed down for lunch. Sadly Vee wasn't there but it was her day off and she deserved the break. I saw Robin again who said she was going to head out to the company she applied for yesterday to see if she could talk to a manager to get an informal interview. She seemed very excited. I was waiting to see if Israel was going to show, but I never saw him. It got to get close to closing time, when a man asked me to come to his table to ask a question. He asked why there were people who were serving food yet coughing, and how that was unsanitary. I can't remember exactly what I said, but I tried to explain that we try to keep the sick people on jobs that aren't around food. I dunno. Then he asked if he could ask me another question. He asked me what I knew about Isis. I told him what I knew, and then he said "what's the difference between Isis and the ku klux klan?" And said how they have similar sickening ways of viewing the world. Then he said that we should be fighting the ku klux klan here instead of pouring money into Isis. I said "is it still a huge issue?" Trying to figure out what the problem was, and he laughed and said "they chopped off their heads and use them as badges." And I thought to myself 'oh we're getting into this conversation' Aka they are today's police force, yet he didn't mention a word about Ferguson. He later went on to say how "you" (whites) drove out the Indians and treated them with such cruelty and did similar things to African Americans. "You" seemed to be his favorite pronoun, not "they". He went on to say that whites just paint a pretty picture for themselves and lie to themselves into thinking the world is ok. I thought this point was good to reflect on, especially doing "service". Are we painting a picture for ourselves this week, coming into this random community, making some people smile, and then leaving knowing that we did some good? Just some points to think on. It's pretty negative, but I think you need to keep yourself in check, even though this man was by no means personally respectful or kind with any of his thoughts towards me. This is how he feels and he probably has some good reasons for saying the things he said in the way he said him, even though they may not all be true, he's a human being and his thoughts are worth listening to, and truly listening not just brushing off all he said. I don't have to agree with it or be personally hurt but it's good to be brought back to reality and hear how some people really view each other. We all need to be conscious of his we treat each other and we all need to pray for each other and ourselves to realize our own faults and find a common ground to help out one another. Although the conversation was difficult to hear, I'm thankful for it because it just shows that everything can't be perfect all the time.
The conversation also brought me down and made me vulnerable, and I really needed a good conversation to bring me back . I needed the help. We had an art session next with the residents where I got to talk to Debbie and Ann about their lives and passions. I'm very hesitant to say that I got something out of service, because I shouldn't be there to get something, that's selfish, I should be there to help others from my heart, but this time I was the one who needed the service. These ladies did what we've been trying to do all week, they brought up my spirits through simple conversation and relationship building. We're all human, and it's natural that we both need help. My mindset of judging those who say they "get something" out of service changed, because sometimes we need that too. It was a really meaningful experience.
We hung out our creations in the dining hall and then headed upstairs to make cookies with the teens. They were a little hesitant at first, but once we got to talking, they warmed up. Tiffani and I headed downstairs to get cups for milk where I ran into Robin who told me that her interview went really well. I was super excited for her and you could see the joy in her face. I really hope she gets it.
We headed back upstairs where they finished the cookies and we're talking to the teens. One guy sang for us, and another danced and then taught us a new dance. We were pretty awful and everyone laughed at us, but I think we all had a good time. He had to head out for dinner, even though we stayed an hour later than planned. It was hard saying goodbye not only to the teens, but to everyone at Restart. We really had a great time there and met some amazing people.
We got to Chris's house a little early for dinner, so we hung out at a nearby elementary school playground to relax and enjoy the weather. Then we went to Chris's lovely house for a pizza dinner and good conversation. It was nice to review the week and also hear more about Chris and his life. We went downstairs to check out his baby grand and play a bit of music before heading out. We were feeling a little sentimental for our last night, so we decided to go to Winsteads for one last skyscraper. We did our reflection and affirmation circle there in the booth which was nice and fun. When the glass was empty, we headed back to the house where we got to talk to the sisters for a bit, then tried to get to bed quickly after packing. Elaine and I talked for a while before bed, and then we passed out.

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