I woke rather late this
morning almost 7 AM! That's great actually the first time this week
or last week now that I actually got enough sleep that I didn't feel
groggy when I woke. But I was surprised to see that the sky was
overcast. There were clouds. Dense clouds the kind of clouds which
promise moisture. I laid there in bed sometime , I can do that on
Sunday mornings. I have no meetings nor do I have staff coming in to
help me do my program. I thought about waking up to clouds and how
much I missed files the last couple of months. I hope it rains soon.
The clouds reminded me of
Gloria, a friend of mine, a fellow employee when I worked at Salt
Lake United Way 211. Gloria was the same pod as me. Gloria was a
graduate student I believe from school social work. She was kind of
mysterious but very friendly to me which I appreciated. Gloria was
smart, you could tell she was smart in that way you can tell a person
smart buy just the way they conduct themselves. Gloria loved the rain
she love storms, Gloria loved stormy nights with great winds and
monstrous lightning flashes the bigger the better. While I worked at
211 we never had enough storms to satisfy Gloria. So now anytime
there's the possibility of stormy weather I think of Gloria.
Gloria is very Hispanic,
she of course is one of the English/Spanish speaking operators on the
211 staff. I have never asked Gloria about her politics but I'm
convinced that Gloria is a Marxist is not she should be. What little
bit I understand of Marxism I doubt that I am a very good
representative. I do however worked very hard to make sure the
minorities and low-income get a fair shake. More than once that I
have knockdown drag out discussions with callers on the phones at 211
sticking up for the lower classes. I got in trouble more than once
instructing folks who had called in with problems either with their
rent or with medical issues or in some cases disability issues since
I was the “disability guide” on staff. Gloria, was in the cubicle
directly on the other side of mine and she often heard my
conversations. Gloria always encouraged me forward. Gloria is totally
down to earth, she does not wear fatigues but she does choose to wear
the uniform of the student, lots of flannel and denim, flip-flops for
summer and old Converse All-Stars during the cold weather. Gloria has
had her Masters degree sometime now her wardrobe might be different
now. However, earlier this summer I had lunch with my old staff from
211 and the girl looked laid back as ever. There were three or four
staff at 211 I really enjoyed while I worked there.
There's a building in
downtown Salt Lake that has a giant image of the Madonna. It's a
beautiful rendition was even more remarkable is that I think it looks
exactly like Gloria from 211. I really thought she could have been
the model and I asked her as much. Gloria just blushed and said no it
was not her then laughed at me and punched me in the arm as Gloria
does. I still think she's the secret model for the Salt Lake Madonna
and if she's not she should be.
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