Kirbaybay

So, I write with a story to tell. 

Yesterday, while searching for HOURS for a job at a cafe, the home girl Saman came across a craigslist ad for a woman who was looking for some help.  It read:

Hi there. I’m on disability and am so embarrassed, but can only afford to pay about $5 plus getting you organic groceries…so it would even out to at least $10 per hour. Hopefully more. And I’ll feed you when you’re here.  

The place I was going to move into fell through, so I’m not sure where I’ll need to be moved to, but I need help packing up and moving (A friend is renting me a U-Haul and will also help load and unload…..I hope). And then I’ll need help cleaning the place. Not glamorous, and the timing is crappy.

If you think you can help later today, a few hours tomorrow and move and clean on the 31st, please let me know ASAP. And please think about it before you respond, because I’m simply too ill to do this myself and if you change your mind, I’m in big trouble.

Thanks, and again, I’m really apologetic that I cannot pay more. Strong woman with references preferred. Sincerely,

H

Because she was looking for a woman, and we literally had nothing else to do, but look for a job and a place to live, we decided to give her a call on the condition that she would let two women come and not just one.  We even said that she wouldn’t have to pay both of us if she didn’t want to.

She texts us back and told us she looked forward to having us come over. She received 28 responses, but to her, we seemed the most interesting. Fast forward to today.

So as we are heading to her house, we made sure to let a homie know where we would be, just in case it turned into some Hansel and Gretal type shit, said some prayers and really just went to be of service, and nothing else. 

So we get to this house in Wallingford and I ask her right away, “So where are you moving to?” Her reply?

“I have no place to go.”  uh oh. 

So for thirty minutes straight she unburdens her heart to us, really telling us her plight.  My first reaction is to leave because I want to protect myself emotionally and mentally, but because I had Saman there, I felt comfortable enough to stay.  I know Saman felt the same way.  Don’t get me wrong, we  felt for her, but that intial feeling is always your gut reaction when you have been through hella shit in your life and you really don’t want to get in the middle of someone else’s. 

So after she let it out, all I wanted to do was make moves. So we got movin and we were able to help her pack.  The best thing we could have done for her was move all her stuff because this woman had Fibromyalgia, a condition that among other things, makes it hard for you to even walk, let alone pack and move heavy boxes. 

There for two hours and it was the easiest thing ever. She put on music, looked for a place to live while we packed her stuff up, we all joked around and she ended up being a very gentle soul. 

She stayed true to her word, as posted on craigslist, and paid us each 10 bucks, gave us a box full of organic foods and seemed so much more at ease, even if she was about to be homeless in 24 hours.

We are going back tomorrow with the homie Zia to help move the boxes out of the house and into a Uhaul. 

Later, she called and left a message.  She felt overwhelmed by the energy that was brought by our presence, told us she learned a lesson today on the importance of individual action, and hopes to be that person for someone else. In the same breath, she said that she heard me comment on a brand new box of dishes that I found while packing her stuff.  I told her she should save it for when she was really able to find a great place so that she has new dishes to start fresh.  Instead, she decided to give it to us as a house warming gift, since we told her that earlier this morning we were able to find a place to live and were excited to buy new stuff for the place.

No matter how much she may have learned from us, I learned so much more. 

My on-going conclusion:  White people may have the privledge and the power to manuever within our society so much more freely than others, but to not have a community, a family, friends, or others that you can rely on and ask for help in situations like this— that you have to call on complete strangers… which to me is a direct result of white culture and the type of individualism that is preached… is the saddest thing I have ever witnessed.  I may be oppressed on a number of levels, but at the end of the day, I have people who fuckin love me and care about me.  I AM HOMELESS AND JOBLESS and yet I will never have to live on the street or my car ever again or feel the pangs of hunger like I experienced as a child… and I can’t help but be truly grateful for this.  Although this doesn’t excuse institutionalized racism or any system that is set up to deliberately stops others from materially reaching their fullest potential, I am still grateful for the systems that I have access too… systems and networks that are real. 

damn i love seattle.

I am here for two reasons: God and my community. With that, ultimate joy and happiness are mine.

And I pray this woman can find that support system for herself.

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