Yesterday afternoon and evening, Dennis and I worked our shift down at the Northwest Detention Center. Some of it felt like screwball comedy but only 5 people were released, one by one.
One event stood out.
We had already sent the man from Mexico off with an extended friend. And a young woman from India went off with taxi-driver Solomon to the Sikh Center.
A big burly man from Dominican Republic came out, he was trying to get home to his wife and baby daughter. We thought he wanted a bus ticket, turned out he didn't but he didn't have much English. At one point, he and Dennis went over to the bus station to get a bus ticket and stopped at a food court we didn't know about, a block away. He came back with a big meal of mexican takeout food.
Keep in mind that the Northwest Detention Center food is infamous for being bad and not much of it.
When the man from Dominican Republic came back, he started to set out the food on the table. He looked around and then quietly, gently, with small gestures he motioned for the other two released persons (a young woman from Guatemala and a young woman from Cameroon who had just got asylum) to sit down and the he put the food right in front of them and indicated again with small movements and averted eyes, that they should eat. He stepped back. They gobbled up that food. Also quietly. He stood back not facing the diners.
The spirit of kindness was palpable in that little RV.
He had quietly given away all his food.
Dennis and I usually buy two foot long Subway sandwiches to eat before and after. But today they had this deal where you could get some extra few sandwiches. We did not know why we had these extra sandwiches. But immediately, I went out to the car and got one of those sandwiches and quietly gave it to the generous man.
It was a moment of kindness and generosity. Not me, him.
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