The Lunch Lady from Heaven
Ms. D sold the newspaper on one of the busiest corners in Portland for years. Showing love to everyone as they grabbed their newspapers every Sunday. She knows the schedule of every free food handout in Portland. Going to all of them in order to get food that she can give out to the people who need it but couldn’t get there. She has adopted dozens of stray animals over the years, taking care of them and nursing them back to health. She has no car. She rides her bike everywhere, using the TARC when she needs it. She has loved me like her own grandchild from the moment I moved to Portland. She is one of the people who I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that she was an angel in disguise all along. She is a Saint of Portland.
Ms. D is always cheering me on and showing me Love. It is what she has done for so many others as well. That love is what brought them back to her newsstand week after week. That love is what makes her the most informed person in Portland, everyone tells her everything, and when there is information I need to know she passes it along.
The other week at our community cook out, I was sitting with a bunch of community minded people, all of us working towards building a healthier neighborhood. She joined us at the table as we were talking. I was surprised when one of the guys at the table brought up that Ms. D was their lunch lady in middle school. I thought it was so weird because she was also my lunch lady in middle school. She was also the lunch lady of another person sitting at the table. All various schools, decades apart.
It seemed like too many coincidences. How was Ms. D the lunch lady for all of us. How had she known all of us from such a young age? My imagination couldn’t help but wonder, what prayers had she silently spoken over our food, how many encouraging words had she whispered as she cleaned up behind our middle school messes? Before we had known her, before I even knew Portland, she had been praying for us to be at that table that day. She had been praying, willing into existence through Love, the dreams that she had for her community, and the people to carry them out.
Ms. D has been preparing the foundations for the revitalization of her community for decades. A Saint working in the shadows, downplaying her acts of love and using sarcasm to deflect from her own recognition. She is someone that others from outside of Portland would look over, that sometimes even people from Portland overlook, but I am guessing the same has been true for many Saints over the years.
While our 1,000 neighbors giving $25 a month campaign has officially ended, we are still looking for partners to help sponsor students at Mighty Oak Academy. If you can join in and partner with us please click the link below.
Fish Fry every Friday 11-7pm
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.