David's Kitchen

Quesadillas and Trauma

October 16, 2018 by David B. Filed Under: Food Operations

New gig today! Made bean & cheese quesadillas on my electric griddle outside a day center in Ballard. Served 40; big hit! Traumas revealed:

Young Black girl hadn’t eaten in days; too scared to leave her tent. Recounted eating muffins out of the garbage that tasted like actual garbage, but she didn’t care because she was starving.

Big white fellow was very upset over perceived gay come-on by another guy. Subsequently revealed he had been raped in prison and as a child. Courteously gave up half his last quesadilla to a young man who got there late.

A guy I know from a nearby camp was there, sweeping up and collecting garbage. Then he said he had to go push his hernia back in. Made a point of letting me know he was sober. I could tell he was thinking clearly; nice to meet him that way, finally!

Nearly everyone you meet has some dreadful trauma that has distorted their lives and landed them adrift and wretched. They want to share; not in the hope you can help them, but just not to carry the burden alone.

Recognizing Our Common Humanity

October 14, 2018 by David B. Filed Under: Philosophy

This is my Facebook post responding to an article by Naomi Klein about “pampered princelings” who rule the world.

I was a minor princeling (Harvard, inheritance), but fortunately I was too crazy and undisciplined to take my place in the structures of institutional power. (Instead, I took LSD and had visions.) Reading this long article, I searched for a justification of my current work serving meals to the homeless. Why was my path different?

Answer: People who hold onto their wealth believe they deserve it. They believe in a hierarchy of value among humans: There are winners and losers; some people deserve to live – others, not so much. This ideology is elevated into a quasi-religious devotion, with the convenient result that the rich enjoy their wealth without interference while other people starve, sicken, and die.

Jesus, to pick a random example, was a radical because he thought differently. At the core of Christianity is the idea that we are all equal in the love of God, equally deserving of grace and a holy, sanctified life. This parallels the Buddhist notion that distinctions are illusions; the ten thousand things are manifestations of the holy One. Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

So here’s my justification: The work I do (alongside thousands of others in this town and millions across the world) is an assertion that everyone deserves to live. Hierarchy is the enemy; recognition of common humanity is the goal.

Every homeless person I’ve met is as passionate about their own life as I am about mine, regardless of what challenges they face, what bad decisions they’ve made, or how futile their current situation seems to be. To recognize this common passion – to greet a fellow human with a hot meal, a smile, and a word of encouragement – is a radical act of opposition to a cruel regime. Down with the princes! Let compassion rule!

Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Rule of Pampered Princelings

Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh are what we get when a country is ruled by coddled, overconfident men who have never been permitted to fail.

The Intercept

The current state of the work

October 9, 2018 by David B. Filed Under: Food Operations

I have been confused. For several months now, I have felt unsure if serving meals is an adequate response to the chaos that infects our society and the mean-spiritedness that pervades our public discourse. After deep reflection, I am now sure. Serving meals is a great thing to do! It helps individual people, it gives strength to organizations, and it changes the tone of social discussion.

This blog has been off-track. As you can see in the posts below, I took a slight detour into creating a podcast of interviews with organizers and residents of homeless encampments. The interviews may continue, but my plan to focus on an existence in cyberspace has been scrapped.

I am cooking and delivering meals to the homeless and the poor on a weekly schedule:

Monday: In the morning, cook pancakes and eggs on the griddle at Aurora Commons. In the evening, cook and deliver dinner to Nickelsville Northlake.
Tuesday: (Off)
Wednesday: Make burritos in partnership with the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s Hot Meal Program, and deliver to Licton Springs Village, Aurora Commons, and wherever people are living in north Seattle.
Thursday: Volunteer with Edible Hope, the daily breakfast served by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard. With another volunteer, I transport the weekly donation from a local grocer, including produce, meat, dairy, bread, and deli items.
Friday: Cook and deliver dinner to one of the authorized camps in south Seattle, either Camp Second Chance or Nickelsville Georgetown.
Saturday: Cook and deliver breakfast at Licton Springs Village.
Sunday: Contribute a dish to the Rainier Popup Kitchen, a group of neighbors who serve 150 people every week, under the I-90 overpass on Rainier Ave. S. If there are leftovers, I deliver them to Camp Second Chance or Nickelsville Georgetown.

This is my vocation and is purely a volunteer effort. I am retired and have adequate income (unlike the people I serve).

I welcome your participation. Please feel free to get in touch: david@rumblecrash.com.

–David B.

Shared Struggle – Hattie Rhodes

July 22, 2018 by David B. Filed Under: Podcast

Hattie used to look down on homeless people. But then she lost her housing, lived in tent camps, met a wide variety of people, and changed her views. She now believes that tiny-house villages are essential to help people overcome the trauma of becoming homeless. The sense of shared struggle gives people confidence and a feeling of being valued by their peers.

Hattie Rhodes, 38, lives in a tiny-house village in south Seattle. She works a full-time, minimum wage job at a major retailer of household goods.