The Feel-Good Moment of the Season:

I was finally able to complete one of my pre-New Year's resolutions. I'm afraid that eating all the chocolate I own before the year is out is not going to happen (I have quite a way to go and two days in which to accomplish my goal), but I was able to go to the Daily Bread Food Bank yesterday to help sort food for the needy. And surprisingly enough, this kind of manual labour was really fun. I went with Emily and her church friends, so there were maybe ten or twelve of us. I knew a few people, so it made it less awkward. After receiving instruction, we got to work. The one thing that impressed me was how well everything was organized. They had 17 categories of food items, all arranged in alphabetical order around a group of tables. We had people date-labelling the food, people sorting the food according to which side the boxes were on, and people boxing the food and putting them on the trolley. The time went by so fast, and suddenly we realized that we had sorted 4 or 5 skids in two hours. Food was flying back and forth, since we kept mixing up baked beans with plain beans, and dry pasta with noodles with soup. And what exactly counts as a significantly dented can? It also amazes me the kinds of things that people donate to the food bank. We found a bagful of old chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies. There was one bunny that wouldn't fit in the box even if the box was empty. We checked with one of the people in charge, who took one look at it and said "Garbage". Honestly, I don't think starving people are interested in Easter chocolate. We also kept getting lollypops and gumballs. File those under "Snacks", I guess.

It was such a great experience, I encourage all of you to try it at least once. And go with a group, it's much more fun with people you know. I can't wait for Easter.

"Help me if you can I'm feeling down, and I do appreciate you being round, help me get my feet back on the ground"