So, today was the second day of my not having a bicycle. So, I became the average commuter and walked the 20 min. walk to the metro (or train system for those unpolished highlanders who've never visited the great city of washington) ride the metro for 2 stops south and then walked the 10 min. walk to work. After work I walked the 10 min. walk (which is also freezing by the way, even below freezing) to the metro, rode the metro 2 stops north and then waited for the bus that would drop me off right by my house. I love that bus, it's just very unreliable. The number 12, it goes right past my house, but the whole system is like ... ok if you were walking in a field and you found a watch... oh never mind. anyway, you can always count on it to not be on time. So, I get the bus and get home 30 min. prior to having to arrive at my first community group meeting.
Backup- I go to a church now that is in the city, but has small groups in various locations. There is one that is 5 min. away from the metro. The opposite direction from me. So that makes it a 25-30 min. walk in my bicycle-less state. I decided to visit one. Tonight was my first time. So, after I arrive home and thaw my fingers out and generally go about doing nothing for 10 min. in the stupor that I always seem to have when my mind isn't actively engaged in a focused activity I realize that i haven't done much of anything productive and now I am going to be late for my first meeting. It starts at 7:30. It is now 7:15. So, I put my two coats back on, my gloves, my scarf and leave my house. The bus system doesn't seem to be existent so I start the 25-30 min. walk. Just as I'm about 12 min. into it, the bus comes lumbering up behind me and alas I am in the middle of two bus stops. So what do I do? Start running. Thankfully, bus drivers have hearts too and he stops just right where he is, so I backtrack a little and glide onto the bus.
So, I finally arrive at the house where this groups supposedly meets. I thought it was the corner one, but that was completely boarded up, so I go over to the next house. It is completely dark inside with the curtains drawn. The tangerine arched doorway doesn't help matters. I ring the bell. Nothing. There is a plastic stick of some sort taped to the frame that I can only conclude is for people to take off and hammer the front door with, so I take the hint that the bell doesn't work and I knock. The door opens quickly inward and a man with a beard stands before me... There are candles lit in various places in the room and a very pathetic fire is trying to grow in the fireplace. There are others in the room but it's hard to make out because it's so dark. My first thought is seance? I've never attended an anglican church before so I don't know their practices, and they do seem to lean heavily on the ritual, and in the email that I got from the leader before coming there was talk of some sort of silent meditation. I half wanted to bolt. But I braced myself and entered the darkened abode.
It was then that I learned that there seemed to be a strange sort of power outage only affecting that solitary home. ....strange. I met Ben and Laura inside. The man who opened the door turned out to be the leader, Bryon {pronounced brian}. Laura is his wife. We make small talk about the local robberies and crime chases with helicopters while Bryon made valiant attempts at lighting that unigniteable wood. Meanwhile there is thumping in the corner and I see a cage and so work up the courage to ask? Oh, yeah, it's just the rabbits. Then Laura is trying to rally the group to give up and go to a restaurant with real working electricity I feel a bumping and nudging on my ankle. Oh, yeah, it's just the rabbits.
So, we all board the white prius in the driveway (I think her name is Rosie?) and make the journey to... of course... the tastee diner. Although I don't know where the the comes from since it wasn't on the sign, but they were all very insistent about the the part of the name and kept saying it with that specific emphasis. I had never been to this one and they did in all fairness warn me that it was like the classic diners of however many decades ago that made our country great. Sure enough there were booths with jukeboxes in each one, tiled floors, gaudy decorations hanging from the ceiling, those silver napkin holders that hold napkins so thin that they practically fall apart in your hands and small enough that you can't even fold them to make a decent layer. Oh, and not to mention the waitress. I have never seen a person smile less in so little time. She wasn't openly hostile or angry, it was just the unenthusiam that was overwhelming. Of course, if I was named Martha and was probably over 60 years old and worked the night shift at a diner I would be unenthusiastic too.
After we are seated at a booth Bryon says to me, "oh I can finally see your face, nice to really meet you" and I look up and there's this person that i'd seemingly never seen before. It must have been that dark in the house and then he was the one driving so I never really got a good look at his face. The whole group decided to get burgers. Except for me of course who doesn't eat animals. Just their products as Ben pointed out. I opted for the hot cakes {which if you've never heard of, don't be alarmed, I'd never heard of them myself until last year when my good farmer friend introduced me to them, they're really just fancy name for pancakes} with chocolate chips of course. What good are hot cakes without a little bit of chocolate? And keeping up with that them, I ordered the hot chocolate which was promptly delivered.... as Martha was walking away from the table I had to lean over and whisper to laura, "is it for here or to go?" It was a styrofoam cup which was then placed in a china mug which was sitting on a matching china saucer. I suppose I should have been grateful that they gave me the amount of a to go cup with *almost* the class of a dine-in china cup. I was just very unsure... maybe Martha's been working here a little too long. ... So, we made it our goal to make her smile before the night was through.
We get underway with "business" as this is an intentional time of community and proceed to share.... (brian comes up with all the topics each week).... our best high-school memories and our worst college memories. Interesting choice Bry. It was a pretty thorough icebreaker since I learned so much about the few people around me that I'd known just about as long as I'd known our waitress.
After, or rather in the midst of our sharing since we didn't exactly follow a strict format, Laura asked about last sunday's church service and what was talked about since they were helping with children's church downstairs. I cringed since I had been asleep, not only for the entire sermon, but the entire service almost. Granted, it's harder to fall asleep when standing and singing, but it is possible. I don't know what came over me that afternoon- maybe just the fact that it was an afternoon on the weekend and my body demands naps not strict attention paying. Anyway, needless to say I did not get one single thing out of that sermon. In my defense I felt that it was very blandly delivered but who am I to judge such matters from my easy-pew? Ben however, seems to have a vivid auditory equivalent of a photographic memory and spits out basically a detailed outline of the entire sermon. Point, sub-point, sub-subpoint. you get the picture. I of course have to admit to falling asleep to it in the midst of his enthusiasm. There was some confusion in my mind as to who the actual head pastor was since I'd been twice and both times there were different pastors that didn't really explain who they were. So, I open the floor and ask about that and then Ben excitedly tells me that this last sunday the head pastor spoke. The one I fell asleep to. As he so nicely put it, I have "lots to look forward to". Just as I write this now, I am realizing that I wasn't even there last sunday. I was in Pennsylvania. But that's another story. Dont' worry, that whole falling asleep thing did actually happen, but on a different sunday. So now I am hoping that it was with a visiting pastor I feel asleep to who will never visit again. One can only pray.
At the end of this discussion Martha comes around to give us our checks which must have took her some time to write up judging from her face when we explained in the beginning that we would like separate checks. Bryon supposes out loud that he might get a milkshake and Martha practically says no he can't order that, it's too cold outside. It is in the midst of this banter that we see the first hint of a smile of Martha's lips. After she's turned her back on the table we all do a round of congratulatory high-fives and Bryon mentions under her breath, "stuff white people like." Perfect.
After paying our carefully divided checks at the register Laura announces that they are going to drop me off since "it's too cold to walk"... because it's not like I walked to their house or anything in it. I appreciate the gesture though and accept gratefully. On the drive back we take prayer requests and I ask Bryon if he would mind keeping his eyes open while he drives. I know it's a prius, but still. They dropped me off and that was that. My first (own) community group experience.
Thinking back on the evening now, there are so many quirks and oddities about my whole experience with these people that it might just be crazy enough to be perfect. Time will tell.
Ok ok fine. After reading this entire post instead of a hollow word of congrats I'll throw you a bone. Here's a little baby giraffe that I did for my sister's baby shower invite.
