Saturday Doings

TACO TIME: This was the fourth Saturday of the month, so that meant we piloted a carload of food to the University District for our monthly service at Teen Feed.

The always-popular taco bar was on the menu. We arrived about an hour before service started, and got right to prepping, which meant cleaning counters, heating meat, lining out the toppings. Those included lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, sour cream, cotija and cheddar cheeses, and six kinds of hot sauce. There was also Mexican style rice, and both black and pinto beans.  We also had a dessert bar and drink station.

We were four of 14 who were helping that evening. Christian, CJ and Annabelle all worked in the dish room. I did my typical darting from station to station to keep pots and bowls full.

The past couple of months, we've only had about 25 to 30 diners or so. This Saturday, at least 45 people showed up, and man, were they hungry!

We went through 24(!) pounds of meat (20 of which we prepped and brought), about a gallon sour cream, piles of cheese, at least three gallons of beans, all the desserts ... and the dish room crew reports returned plates were coming in clean, so it's not like the food wound up being wasted at all.

After all of the other volunteers had left, the man who is our 'point person' at the shelter made a point to come into the dish room and tell us how much everyone appreciates our Teen Feed team. He said the guests were absolutely raving about how good the food was, and he added that he, personally, loves what we serve, as well (he and other Teen Feed workers eat with the guests). He said that people are so happy with the variety/choices that we always offer, and he is impressed at how hard we work to keep the food hot and fresh, saying, "You guys keep it coming in waves."  He shared with us that most other groups bring stuff that was hot at one point, but they don't really use the kitchen to cook or heat things back up, so often it's not really a hot meal for the guests. At that, I told him we take food safety seriously, and figured regardless of how things taste, 'first do no harm,' was a guiding principle, so we're mindful of safe serving temps, for sure, and he said he was VERY appreciative of that, as well.

All in all, a super busy night at Teen Feed. The volunteers worked hard and it paid off, as dozens of homeless youth had a huge, hot meal on a cold winter night. 

 PLAYING AROUND: Saturday midday, Christian took the kids to Seattle Center for a free  presentation at Seattle Children's Theatre, "Ghosted."
                               Ghosted graphic from Seattle Children's Theatre

Following is CJ's recap about the production. ... 

In the past few years, mental health (especially among youth) has become a hot topic. Recently (as of the time of this writing), the Seattle Children's Theatre introduced a play, Ghosted, which revolves around four high-schoolers, all of whom struggle with a mental condition. The teenagers are Andre (who suffers from depression), Kayla (who struggles with stress), Syd (who suffers from anxiety), and Liam (who, like Andre, struggles with depression).

The play begins with Syd and Kayla meeting in a counselors' office in their high school. They recognize each other from their 5th grade swim team, and re-form a bond. However, Liam, a juvenile delinquent with anger management issues, appears, having been sent due to his occasionally destructive behavior. Slightly later, Kayla and Syd meet in the hall, and Kayla mentions that she's concerned about her "friend's" well being. Andre, said "friend" (in actuality her boyfriend), hears the conversation, and he gets suspicious.

Eventually, Syd takes Andre to an art room, hoping that the art room will help him unwind. All four of the students end up in the room, have an intense argument (save for Syd), and Syd ends up having an anxiety attack. All four of them are able to establish relationships with each other, and the play ends shortly thereafter.

After the end of the play, certain terms were shown to the audience (examples: Resilience, depression, anxiety, stress). If I recall correctly, one of the cast members stated that anxiety, in small amounts, can be helpful, since somebody may need to accomplish something related to the anxiety. If said anxiety or stress takes control of one's life, then there is a problem. Noticeably, while Andre and Liam both had depression, they expressed it in markedly different ways. For example, a symptom of Liam's depression was destructive outbursts and tantrums.

The last thing we saw before we left was a message on a sign instructing people in the audience who needed help to text HELLO or HEAL to a certain number (I don't remember which, unfortunately).

In reading SCT's web site, the production has toured through several area schools. In a press release about the show, SCT shares this information:

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition.  Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States, affecting nearly one third of adolescents and adults. One in five youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition. Several key indicators point to a rising tide of anxiety and depression among young people.
Kaiser Permanente and Seattle Children’s Theatre have partnered to create Ghosted, for grades 9-12 to raise awareness about anxiety and depression and build resiliency. Students witness the journey of four young people and observe the ways they relate to and help each other. This can have a lasting impact on their lives. The program supports the Health Education Standards and Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks for Washington State Public Schools in areas of mental, emotional and social health.
Key concepts:

• Discussing what you are going through with others is an important first step to getting help
• Stigma causes people to feel ashamed about things that they cannot control
• Depression and Anxiety are common and not anyone’s fault

ART STOP: After the play but before Teen Feed, on Saturday afternoon, Annabelle and I buzzed over to the Rainier Community Center for a little art project.

A Facebook notice let me know that from 1 to 4 p.m., there was an event where people could submit designs for consideration to go on t-shirts celebrating the city's Detective Cookie Chess Park.

We've had occasion to meet Detective Cookie before, and she is quite the personality. She grew up in the projects in Chicago, was a Soul Train dancer, is a snazzy dresser, served as security at the first Obama inauguration, and is a longtime Seattle Police Department officer. She also has headed up a chess club to try to engage youth in some of the "tougher" neighborhoods in Seattle. A couple of years ago, the city named a park in her honor, and apparently t-shirts are going to be part of the celebration.

I remembered Annabelle had done a cute chess-related design for another chess club a couple of years ago (see below).

I figured she could whip out a quick design on Saturday afternoon, and plus, the notice said there'd be free pizza! :)

When we got there it was an interesting scene. There were about a dozen people of all ages (young kids to older adults) sitting at tables with crayons and a template, drawing shirt design ideas. There were a few chess boards out and a couple of kids playing chess, and there was a DJ sitting in the corner of the room, with music blaring and lights flashing. Interesting. ... and not something you'd usually associate with chess matches. Interesting!


Anyway, Annabelle used the provided crayons and pencils to make a drawing. It was a little bit of a challenge because the slightly younger boy sitting across from her was shaking the table while he was erasing his art over and over.

At one point, I looked over to see what he was up to and why all the erasing ... well, it was because he erased his drawing and was copying Annabelle's design exactly, to the best of his ability. Hmm. Well, that's one approach. ... 

Annabelle's design was based on the cool sculptures that are installed in the park. They were done by South Seattle artist Peter Reiquam. At night, they are illuminated in purple, Detective Cookie's favorite color.

All in all, we were probably there about a half hour, and (gasp) there was no free pizza to be seen. Annabelle had to settle for Top Ramen when we got home.

Oh well, first world problems. :)