Shoulders Hips Knees and Toes

Shoulders Hips Knees and Toes
Wednesday I helped to distribute food “baskets” to veterans. It is a rewarding experience to see these men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve our country’s wishes be rewardeed in some small way. We have those who’ve fought in the different wars that American politicians have asked them to fight. One of these men who come fought in World War II and is 100 years of age. Many of the people who come for the food baskets were once wounded. Many are older and can barely shuffle in. Some of these veterans have to be driven to the food share, but they all deserve the respect and the food that we distribute to them.
The boxes of food are stacked on pallets. The pallets are unloaded for volunteers to carry to the vet’s car. The boxes of food weigh about 12 to 25 pounds depending what has been prepackaged. Some are lighter when they are filled with mostly dried goods, (Cereal, noodles, macaroni & cheese, etc.) or they are much heavier when they have canned goods placed inside. There is usually a box of various frozen items: meals, hot dogs, French fries, lunch meat, chicken, or ground beef or ground turkey. When a veteran arrives, the volunteers hustle to load the vehicle with the various boxes, bags, and jugs of milk and drink portion that is to be dispensed. The boxes are hefted and carried about fifty feet to the awaiting vehicles to be loaded into trunks, truck beds, or back seats.
There are times that the veterans arrive in multiple numbers and it is often difficult to know who arrived first to serve them first. For the most part, the veterans are of good sorts and accept if we make a mistake, unlike shoppers at nearby grocery stores if someone mistakenly “jumps the line.”
The hardest part is getting the drivers to line up into spaces for loading. If anyone has driven lately, you know the experience level of drivers on the roads today. Getting them to maneuver and stop where they are to be is sometimes tricky. Add to that those whose eyesight is fading. So far we’ve avoided parking disasters and we are thankful for that, but it does create episodes of confusion especially in peak arrival times. All in all it went fairly well.
I was very tired on Wednesday evening, but waking up Thursday morning soreness arrived: shoulders, hips, knees, and toes. I almost forgot to mention my back.