Georgialand II

Things I have learned since we moved to Georgia land:

1. Never try to hurry. There is no advantage to it and on a day like today, no one else is in a hurry either.
2. Never leave anything I plan to touch in the car on a hot day.
3. It is honestly not the heat, it is the humidity. 91 degrees with 34% humidity is a breath of fresh air to any temperature and 100% humidity.
4. I need a hat.
5. The fastest way to end a conversation is to talk. A friend may be interested in what I have to say, but the average person I encounter is not.
6. The pancakes I order at IHOP might not be the pancakes I get.
7. Everyone in Statesboro is nice and friendly, but sometimes that niceness is only a thin veneer over hostility
8. Just because someone is willing to help doesn't mean they are willing to do any favors.

I found out that I am not well enough for Voc-Rehab. I was surprised that they were not interested in helping me find something I could do on a part-time basis. I guess that makes sense. So, I have been pounding pavement (so to speak), looking for volunteer opportunities.

At the library, the first question I was asked by the director of public programing was if I was court appointed or resume building. Evidently, there are too many of both for her. She sent me to meet the director of the literacy program that is run out of the library.

Afterwards, I stopped by to thank her. Without turning around and even before I knocked, she asked me how it went. What survival skills she must possess. Last week I saw her calmly shepherd a group of unruly children and their kids out of the adult section of the library. She never lost her composure in the face of the yelling, table slamming adolescents in charge. I hope I have her with me next time I get stuck behind enemy lives with just a Zippo, ten feet of fishing wire and a Swiss Army knife.

I was eating lunch in a downtown eatery when the pastor of a church we visited walked in and recognized me. When he found out I was looking for volunteer opportunities, he had his wife come over and tell me about some of the things the Statesboro Downtown Development needed. This was very exciting, doing things like photographing community events,helping upload content for the web page and possibly even writing things for the local paper, once I get to know more about Statesboro.

I just realized it was my first, solo encounter with someone who wasn't behind a counter or bringing me food. It felt really good and now I have another reason to return to his church.