The Day After Christmas

This year, John decided that it might be a good thing for us to think about someone other than ourselves during Christmas. He contacted a group in Placerville that feeds the homeless people up there. They agreed to 'let us' come with a meal for about 40 people on the 26th. (I say 'let us' because they have many groups that bring meals on a regular basis. They are always looking for more help, of course, but they must get offers that never materialize because they were quick to make other plans.) We were a bit late in responding to them, and someone else took on the lunch, so we offered to bring snacks and supplement the one meal these folks get for the day.
I baked cinnamon rolls and pumpkin muffins, then we added some vienna sausages and peanuts to round out the sweets.The family assembled everthing that morning and we were off!
The 'camps' are located behind stores, parks and motels. I guess if I had really been looking, I'd have noticed excess trash in the area, or a flash of blue tenting. Generally, I would have never known there were people living there. In one area, we only met one person. She took 14 meals in to the campers. We went to about four places. Some of the people had cars; it looked like they were living in them. One man was pretty drunk and very talkative. Ben said that he told them that beer is more filling and cheaper than food. Now I understand why homeless people have a reputation for being drunks. Not only does it fill their tummies, it helps them escape reality for a while.
The woman who was showing us the ropes was incredibly nice. She and her 18 year old son have been supplying meals for about a year now. Not very often, just "once or twice a month". She didn't look like she had money to spare, but she was willing to share what she did! It seems to me that those who have a lot tend to be cautious about who they give to, and those who have little share freely, especially with those who have very little.
Anyway, I had a good feeling as we left and I hope we can do this again. (Notice Ben's face? This is him thinking "Enough with the pictures, Mom! I actually took my camera with us, then realized how weird it would have been to take pictures, so my family was 'overshot'.)