Every month we have another JFON clinic in Orlando. For me as for most in my position this is a highlight of each month, because this is where community meets and takes place. A few months in I am learning the ropes and the stories of our volunteers. Sometimes the logistics and sorting out little problems take a few minutes, but then something starts to happen.
This month our clients waiting to see the attorney had stories they wanted to share. I sat listening to one man while holding another women's 2 week old granddaughter. I laughed with other volunteers as the hospitality coordinator encouraged people to eat more ice cream. And for one man from a different country we had to assure him multiple times that Root Beer was not actually beer and contained no alcohol, and we sat with him as he tried it for the first time. (I couldn't convince him to try a root beer float )
And as the evening wore on and one client waited on her ride home and another to see the attorney something happened. It wasn't just a conversation between the volunteer and a client. It was a conversation between all of us. The whole room was connected through food and time and a basic understanding in something we cared about.
One client was playing the piano in the room of this church. And then the playing changed a little and I looked over. The client didn't look like he was playing but I still heard noise. He pointed down and I realized another clients two year old was playing with the man. Two people many years different in age, very different in country of origin, in color of their skin, in language, in culture…
But happily playing the piano together.
And that's the picture I got to go home with in the midst of all the stories I heard that night.
