Lots Of Great Reasons To Celebrate!!!
I don't believe that I'm going to forget Independence Day 2007 and the days surrounding it for so long as I live and have the ability to remember things!!!
On the first day of July, I was told a secret--a secret I wanted to shout from the mountaintops, but one that was best kept a secret, as "There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."
Sharing this secret and, then, having it not come true would have been a big letdown for our kids should any of them had the chance to read it (though, as you will find out later, it would have been like the chance of a snowball surviving an inferno for this to have happened).
It was on that day that Russell had another surprise for the kids.
He had eaten at this new Mexican restaurant a few days before and had given the owners--a fun brother and sister--one of his business cards. The sister had asked him to give her more details about what he did, and that was when he told her about the kids. She and her brother invited them to come in the following Sunday for meals on the house!
The kids were such a big hit that the owners told Russell that they were welcome to come in twice-a-week for free food after that--but they also took him aside and told him something else: They wanted dibs on Jo Jo--but they wouldn't take him until the other nine kids had been placed. They would be checking with their friends, relatives, and neighbors to see how many might be interested in taking in a young person in need of a home!
Russell would be told the following Sunday whether or not this would become a reality. In the meantime, we weren't going to tell the kids anything because we didn't want to build them up just to let them down. They had been let down enough.
Even before this had happened, Russell reminded me that our kids wouldn't always be together as a unit so not to get too attached to them. Too late, Russell! Too late for both of us!
Of course, I knew that they wouldn't always be in the situation that they were now in--that was the idea: Get them off the streets a.s.a.p. Then, begin to work with another group of ten kids.
Still, our first family-of-ten would always hold an extra-special place in our hearts!
I told him that I didn't ever want to lose track of a single one of these kids and that I would be making up little packages for them that would include, among other things, two self-addressed envelopes apiece that had been stamped with Forever Stamps.
I had already decided to make this Fourth Of July a time to take a mini-road-trip to "destination unknown" while collecting my thoughts. I'd wear red, white, and blue; bring a minimum of one disposable camera with me; eat at least one good meal; and, wherever I happened to be that night, enjoy the fireworks. Beyond that sketchy framework, I'd be playing it by ear.
One thing for sure would be that I'd be passing out some information slips that I was having made at Copy Connection (on the corner of 10th and Scatterfield 765 643-6070, in case anybody reading this happens to be in Anderson and would like some quality printing done. We have some other great printing places here as well, but this is the one that I use most. When I have something done elsewhere, I'll be sure to tell you about them!).
What I had done was to copy the same information over three times and copied onto light-pink paper that would be divided into thirds, with the information being the urls of this blog, our organization's website, my latest website (still in its early stages of development), and my e-mail address for receiving feedback.
The day before, I was in the Family Dollar up at Southdale Plaza (a couple of miles north from home), and I kept seeing all of these wonderful food items and was getting into the mood to do a little TLC-Package-shopping--but not just then.
So, as I left, I asked the check-out clerk if they were keeping any sort of hours the next day--and she told me that it was going to be business-as-usual.
I told her that I'd be coming back to do some more shopping, more than likely.
A note here: The first Family Dollar store where I went to get things for a TLC-Package was out in Edgewood (a community just west of Anderson), and the one other Family Dollar where I went was up in Michigan City along U.S. 20.
One thing that Family Dollar has are these individual-sized snacks (e.g. potato chips, nachos, etc.) that sell four for a dollar! On my first trip there (since I started making up TLC-Packages), they were three-for-a-dollar, and I thought that THIS was a sweet deal, so I'm now totally-blown-away!!!
Here's a tip about another place...
If I hadn't already bought all I needed at that time of my four-for-a-dollar snacks at Family Dollar up in Michigan City, I could have also bought some of them at a Mom & Pop place in Town of Pines called Spotlite--and, next time I'm up there, I'll, likely, make it a point to buy some of them there as well.
Spotlite is a combination gas station, grocery store, and deli (plus, they have some kind of TV business going on, too), and their sandwiches are made-to-order and absolutely delicious!
In case you don't already know, Town of Pines is west of Michigan City on U.S. 12.
Anyway, once I tied up a few loose ends at home on the Fourth, the first place where I went was back to Family Dollar.
At one time, there had been a post office on the grounds of Indianapolis International Airport called Air Cargo, and it was open (had full window service) 24/7 & 365. I had, on several occasions, gone there shortly after a new year had arrived in order to send out mail to people with a January 1 postmark. One one occasion, I had been in the area for The Fourth of July. There had also been a number of other holidays when most post offices would be closed (as well as on occasional Sundays) that I had fun sending off items and getting postmarks like one couldn't get from one's average post office.
However, that began to change.
Air Cargo was phased out as a public post office, and their services were delegated to the Park Fletcher Post Office a mile or so away.
For a short time, Park Fletcher had everything just like Air Cargo but gradually began to cut back on services.
The last time I had used their services, there was no holiday postmark option for regular mail, but there still was for packages. I imagined what a treat it would be for the kids to get packages with a Fourth of July round date.
As it turned out, the post office no longer was open at all on Sundays and holidays and only open until eight at night on other nights.
But, backing up a little...
After I went shopping for items to fill two or three boxes (those items being what would be making up my special packages for our kids along with a variety of non-perishable foods and even a couple of toys--though Russell told me to quit wasting my money on toys, because homeless kids weren't in the mood to play due to their focus being on survival, so I'm passing that advice along to anyone else who is reading this. However, they DO enjoy receiving things such as postcards that represent where you live. In a future chapter, I will write about what it's like to be a homeless kid--as well as how kids get into this situation in the first place. It's a real eye-opener! READ it and don't hide your head in the sand!!!), I decided to grab my first Fourth of July picnic of the day and go eat it at this beautiful place called Flagship Industrial Park.
Since I was in a hurry, I simply grabbed some delicious items from the Southdale Plaza location of Family Dollar (where I had just finished my shopping) to make up the picnic I would be eating. When I was out the evening before, I'd put together a wonderful meal from the Gas America across from Flagship's main entrance off of Martin Luther King Blvd. (formerly, Pendleton Avenue, and a.k.a. State Rd. 9/Indiana 67).
Of course, wherever I went, I would leave behind at least one of the pink information slips I'd had made at Copy Connection.
Let me stop here in my story to tell you that I met some really fantastic people in my travels. With some of them, I remember their names. With others, I don't. However, I remember most of their locations, so I've decided that the best thing to do is to describe them, where I met them, and what they did and forget about naming them.
Originally, I was going to write this and use every name (generally, first names only), but I hope that they're happy having their stories told--and, if they happen to read this, they'll know and they can point themselves out to their families and friends.
We in Anderson and the surrounding areas of Madison County are excited to announce that Nestle has decided to build a big, wonderful complex southwest of the city. This is due to open sometime within the next few months, and its construction has already come a long ways and looks very impressive.
I decided to enter Flagship Industrial Park from that direction and, at the very least, enjoy the view and take some pictures of the progress.
However, I was hoping for something more--and I got what I wanted!
In case you were wondering what, it was people!
I was met at the beginning of the road by a security guard, and he asked me where I was planning to go. I told him that I was going to wander through there to get to Flagship where I would be enjoying a little picnic, gathering my thoughts, and getting some things done, explaining that I was part of an organization that helped homeless youth.
After that, I gave him one of the mini-handbills on which I had placed the following information:
I encouraged him to look at the information for himself on his computer--and, also, if he had the chance, to share it with some of the Nestle brass. I had pictures in my mind of Nestle doing a number of things from donating some of their delicious products to participating in some way during Invisible Youth Month. Even so, I won't hold it against them if they don't, as deep pockets only run so deep, and there's only so much that can realistically be spent on even the best of good causes.
However, it really would be cool to at least have them as one of our partners where we put one of their links on our website while they put one of our links on their website.
Even if that security guard never even came in contact with one of the brass, he was an individual in and of himself with his own contacts. Who knows just how far the information on one little pink slip of paper would travel!?!
He told me that he was going to call his co-worker (at the other end of the property) to let him know that I was okay to pass through.
I told him that I would be back through the same way on a return trip to catch the back way into Pendleton.
When I got to the other end of the property, I told the other security guard that I was that lady he'd been warned about! LOL Then, I gave him one of my handbills.
As I enjoyed my little picnic, I began to look through what I'd bought and to decide how I was going to put everything together.
One thing I needed for sure was a note to go out to all ten of our kids.
We interrupt this blog-entry to give you a very special report...stand by...
This is getting to be a very long blog-entry (You will notice that the posting will probably list it as being put up earlier than the date I'm actually posting it--which is because I put it up to see what it would look like once posted), and there's a special Chapter 5 that needs to be put up no later than tomorrow, so I'm going to put this story on hold and pick it up in Chapter 6. UPDATE (August 12, 2007): This story will pick up in Chapter 7 instead of Chapter 6, due to next story being a two-parter...
An important thing to add right now is that all items sent to be used for our kids should be new ones instead of used ones, because many of them haven't had anything new in a long time--if ever!
Please save your used items for organizations that accept them, as there are plenty of those out there as well.
On this note, I will close, and this wonderful account will continue in Chapter 7--but don't forget to read Chapters 5 & 6...
On the first day of July, I was told a secret--a secret I wanted to shout from the mountaintops, but one that was best kept a secret, as "There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."
Sharing this secret and, then, having it not come true would have been a big letdown for our kids should any of them had the chance to read it (though, as you will find out later, it would have been like the chance of a snowball surviving an inferno for this to have happened).
It was on that day that Russell had another surprise for the kids.
He had eaten at this new Mexican restaurant a few days before and had given the owners--a fun brother and sister--one of his business cards. The sister had asked him to give her more details about what he did, and that was when he told her about the kids. She and her brother invited them to come in the following Sunday for meals on the house!
The kids were such a big hit that the owners told Russell that they were welcome to come in twice-a-week for free food after that--but they also took him aside and told him something else: They wanted dibs on Jo Jo--but they wouldn't take him until the other nine kids had been placed. They would be checking with their friends, relatives, and neighbors to see how many might be interested in taking in a young person in need of a home!
Russell would be told the following Sunday whether or not this would become a reality. In the meantime, we weren't going to tell the kids anything because we didn't want to build them up just to let them down. They had been let down enough.
Even before this had happened, Russell reminded me that our kids wouldn't always be together as a unit so not to get too attached to them. Too late, Russell! Too late for both of us!
Of course, I knew that they wouldn't always be in the situation that they were now in--that was the idea: Get them off the streets a.s.a.p. Then, begin to work with another group of ten kids.
Still, our first family-of-ten would always hold an extra-special place in our hearts!
I told him that I didn't ever want to lose track of a single one of these kids and that I would be making up little packages for them that would include, among other things, two self-addressed envelopes apiece that had been stamped with Forever Stamps.
I had already decided to make this Fourth Of July a time to take a mini-road-trip to "destination unknown" while collecting my thoughts. I'd wear red, white, and blue; bring a minimum of one disposable camera with me; eat at least one good meal; and, wherever I happened to be that night, enjoy the fireworks. Beyond that sketchy framework, I'd be playing it by ear.
One thing for sure would be that I'd be passing out some information slips that I was having made at Copy Connection (on the corner of 10th and Scatterfield 765 643-6070, in case anybody reading this happens to be in Anderson and would like some quality printing done. We have some other great printing places here as well, but this is the one that I use most. When I have something done elsewhere, I'll be sure to tell you about them!).
What I had done was to copy the same information over three times and copied onto light-pink paper that would be divided into thirds, with the information being the urls of this blog, our organization's website, my latest website (still in its early stages of development), and my e-mail address for receiving feedback.
The day before, I was in the Family Dollar up at Southdale Plaza (a couple of miles north from home), and I kept seeing all of these wonderful food items and was getting into the mood to do a little TLC-Package-shopping--but not just then.
So, as I left, I asked the check-out clerk if they were keeping any sort of hours the next day--and she told me that it was going to be business-as-usual.
I told her that I'd be coming back to do some more shopping, more than likely.
A note here: The first Family Dollar store where I went to get things for a TLC-Package was out in Edgewood (a community just west of Anderson), and the one other Family Dollar where I went was up in Michigan City along U.S. 20.
One thing that Family Dollar has are these individual-sized snacks (e.g. potato chips, nachos, etc.) that sell four for a dollar! On my first trip there (since I started making up TLC-Packages), they were three-for-a-dollar, and I thought that THIS was a sweet deal, so I'm now totally-blown-away!!!
Here's a tip about another place...
If I hadn't already bought all I needed at that time of my four-for-a-dollar snacks at Family Dollar up in Michigan City, I could have also bought some of them at a Mom & Pop place in Town of Pines called Spotlite--and, next time I'm up there, I'll, likely, make it a point to buy some of them there as well.
Spotlite is a combination gas station, grocery store, and deli (plus, they have some kind of TV business going on, too), and their sandwiches are made-to-order and absolutely delicious!
In case you don't already know, Town of Pines is west of Michigan City on U.S. 12.
Anyway, once I tied up a few loose ends at home on the Fourth, the first place where I went was back to Family Dollar.
At one time, there had been a post office on the grounds of Indianapolis International Airport called Air Cargo, and it was open (had full window service) 24/7 & 365. I had, on several occasions, gone there shortly after a new year had arrived in order to send out mail to people with a January 1 postmark. One one occasion, I had been in the area for The Fourth of July. There had also been a number of other holidays when most post offices would be closed (as well as on occasional Sundays) that I had fun sending off items and getting postmarks like one couldn't get from one's average post office.
However, that began to change.
Air Cargo was phased out as a public post office, and their services were delegated to the Park Fletcher Post Office a mile or so away.
For a short time, Park Fletcher had everything just like Air Cargo but gradually began to cut back on services.
The last time I had used their services, there was no holiday postmark option for regular mail, but there still was for packages. I imagined what a treat it would be for the kids to get packages with a Fourth of July round date.
As it turned out, the post office no longer was open at all on Sundays and holidays and only open until eight at night on other nights.
But, backing up a little...
After I went shopping for items to fill two or three boxes (those items being what would be making up my special packages for our kids along with a variety of non-perishable foods and even a couple of toys--though Russell told me to quit wasting my money on toys, because homeless kids weren't in the mood to play due to their focus being on survival, so I'm passing that advice along to anyone else who is reading this. However, they DO enjoy receiving things such as postcards that represent where you live. In a future chapter, I will write about what it's like to be a homeless kid--as well as how kids get into this situation in the first place. It's a real eye-opener! READ it and don't hide your head in the sand!!!), I decided to grab my first Fourth of July picnic of the day and go eat it at this beautiful place called Flagship Industrial Park.
Since I was in a hurry, I simply grabbed some delicious items from the Southdale Plaza location of Family Dollar (where I had just finished my shopping) to make up the picnic I would be eating. When I was out the evening before, I'd put together a wonderful meal from the Gas America across from Flagship's main entrance off of Martin Luther King Blvd. (formerly, Pendleton Avenue, and a.k.a. State Rd. 9/Indiana 67).
Of course, wherever I went, I would leave behind at least one of the pink information slips I'd had made at Copy Connection.
Let me stop here in my story to tell you that I met some really fantastic people in my travels. With some of them, I remember their names. With others, I don't. However, I remember most of their locations, so I've decided that the best thing to do is to describe them, where I met them, and what they did and forget about naming them.
Originally, I was going to write this and use every name (generally, first names only), but I hope that they're happy having their stories told--and, if they happen to read this, they'll know and they can point themselves out to their families and friends.
We in Anderson and the surrounding areas of Madison County are excited to announce that Nestle has decided to build a big, wonderful complex southwest of the city. This is due to open sometime within the next few months, and its construction has already come a long ways and looks very impressive.
I decided to enter Flagship Industrial Park from that direction and, at the very least, enjoy the view and take some pictures of the progress.
However, I was hoping for something more--and I got what I wanted!
In case you were wondering what, it was people!
I was met at the beginning of the road by a security guard, and he asked me where I was planning to go. I told him that I was going to wander through there to get to Flagship where I would be enjoying a little picnic, gathering my thoughts, and getting some things done, explaining that I was part of an organization that helped homeless youth.
After that, I gave him one of the mini-handbills on which I had placed the following information:
Virtual Homemaker
Invisible Youth Network
http://www.orgsites.com/ca/youthoutreachinternational/
AJ Online
http://www.freewebs.com/ajpenlady
Contact:
I encouraged him to look at the information for himself on his computer--and, also, if he had the chance, to share it with some of the Nestle brass. I had pictures in my mind of Nestle doing a number of things from donating some of their delicious products to participating in some way during Invisible Youth Month. Even so, I won't hold it against them if they don't, as deep pockets only run so deep, and there's only so much that can realistically be spent on even the best of good causes.
However, it really would be cool to at least have them as one of our partners where we put one of their links on our website while they put one of our links on their website.
Even if that security guard never even came in contact with one of the brass, he was an individual in and of himself with his own contacts. Who knows just how far the information on one little pink slip of paper would travel!?!
He told me that he was going to call his co-worker (at the other end of the property) to let him know that I was okay to pass through.
I told him that I would be back through the same way on a return trip to catch the back way into Pendleton.
When I got to the other end of the property, I told the other security guard that I was that lady he'd been warned about! LOL Then, I gave him one of my handbills.
As I enjoyed my little picnic, I began to look through what I'd bought and to decide how I was going to put everything together.
One thing I needed for sure was a note to go out to all ten of our kids.
We interrupt this blog-entry to give you a very special report...stand by...
This is getting to be a very long blog-entry (You will notice that the posting will probably list it as being put up earlier than the date I'm actually posting it--which is because I put it up to see what it would look like once posted), and there's a special Chapter 5 that needs to be put up no later than tomorrow, so I'm going to put this story on hold and pick it up in Chapter 6. UPDATE (August 12, 2007): This story will pick up in Chapter 7 instead of Chapter 6, due to next story being a two-parter...
An important thing to add right now is that all items sent to be used for our kids should be new ones instead of used ones, because many of them haven't had anything new in a long time--if ever!
Please save your used items for organizations that accept them, as there are plenty of those out there as well.
On this note, I will close, and this wonderful account will continue in Chapter 7--but don't forget to read Chapters 5 & 6...
