An Answer Years In The Making

“Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.”~ Samuel Johnson

And there it is, ladies and gentlemen… boys and girls.

Management staff have finally fired BACK against the revolting, whining residence of this place with regards to Food Pantry and how it its distributed.

Throughout this entire blog, if you searched for the words “food pantry” you will find a number of blog posts through time in which I have written about the avarice of the residents of this place.

For as long as I have been living here, there has always been a handful of people who have complained about the current system and how it works. If you’ve read all the posts I am referring to above, then you know I once was involved in the selection of people. But that was taken away from me because people were bitching that I was cheating. The TRUTH was that they didn’t like how things were going — which was not “their way” and so they complained. Since then, I’ve been forbidden to “help” out.

And now this notice from management comes today. Several years in the making. It should have been handed out so many years ago, and written just like this!!! If you don’t like it, then get out!

Its basic human nature one would think: If you don’t like something, you don’t do it. If you don’t like drinking alcohol, you’re not going to drink. Same thing should have been applied here. If you don’t like how things are being ran for Food Pantry, then don’t come to the Food Pantry.

I honestly feel that this should take care of many of the current problems that we have with it. At least for a short period of time. I don’t think that this will be a final fix though. There’s always going to be someone who is going to bitch and moan and complain. For those who do, they need to be shown this notice. I think that this notice needs to be hung up in the hallway by the door of the food pantry as a constant, ever-present reminder to those who wanna complain.

This particular notice has come about because last month, one of the residents sat there in the building crying like a 5 year old having a tantrum for not getting his way. I love the fact that its added that you will be turned away if you are exhibiting poor behavior. So this basically has given other members of staff the power to remove or kick out anyone being stupid or acting like a child. Over something that is never promised to us and is, in a sense, a bonus to this community. The NEED for Food Pantry is cut and dry. What these people do, do not show a NEED. They will be cut off and pushed away.

And what makes this even funnier to me was that the manager asked me to look at this notice and asked if it was too harsh or not. I laughed and said that the only thing that it was missing was a few crucial F bombs. Which, he would not be able to include to begin with but he got the point.

So I finally applaud management for doing something RIGHT for once. This should have happened years ago, and management does acknowledge that. Let’s hope it sticks longer than any other plan that has been put in place.

But then what was done by management that was NOT right was that only a few apartment buildings had been delivered this notice, then management had to go retrieve food FROM the Food Pantry and left the distribution of these notices to the REST of the complex to someone who hasn’t done it yet. So at this hour, some people know about this notice, others have no idea. People are going to collide into one another. Those who know will run into and bump heads with those who have no clue and more BS and drama will appear. Way to go there!!!

Eventually though, those notices will appear, to everyone.

Let’s also hope that this is the last time I write about Food Pantry problems in this blog.

 

 

The Reign of Rude

“Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.”~Elie Wiesel

 

Ladies and gentlemen! Subscribers, followers, and readers…. here we go again!!

 

What day is it? Yep! Food Pantry Day.

 

Most of our usual suspects were there. One of the worst offenders was ironically not there. But the rest of them were.

 

One had even turned so greedy that when she helped out earlier in the morning to put everything in place after bringing it home, she came back in the afternoon and dared to try to go for a second round.

 

I’m telling you, these residents have got some SERIOUS issues!!

 

But today, we had a new player in the drama that is the avarice of Food Pantry Day. One who has been unfortunately burning her own bridges with her neighbors and other residents. I had forgotten just how much of a problem a person could have with her.

 

It is up to the social worker and her decisions on whether or not someone can go ahead and get their turn in early. Commonly, she’s been allowing those who carry heavy boxes of food in to take their turn first before the rest of the crowd. And it is just her way of saying “thank you” for all of their help and assistance.

 

I was surprised when I “showed up for duty” this afternoon that one of the offenders had helped and therefore our poor social worker was puzzled as to why she was back.

 

Playing dumb like you don’t understand English……. for the win!!!!

 

But this new player into today’s BS drama…. let’s just say that a lot of people believe that we can do without. And that’s a real sad thing to say or even believe.

 

Every time I called someone ELSE to go into the Food Pantry, there was always commentary. There was always some kind of remark about how SHE NEEDED to be next in line. And every time she was not… I got to hear about it.

 

The premise is nothing new, just the characters.

 

And then I started to get it from another resident, but I did not find their remarks as abrasive. So I felt comfortable teasing back that I had control over everything and if they kept it up, I’d never call their name.

 

So then our offender from hell just turned up the heat.

 

I finally just looked to see if I could find her name in the lottery box. And I could not. I was absolutely stunned that it was not in the box, and she’s got the nerve to crawl up and down my back??

 

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Over!!

 

I told the social worker the situation about how that resident’s name was not there in the box. I wondered if I should have just left her to suffer the consequences of her actions, or bring it to her attention and go from there.

 

So I pulled out all of the pieces of paper and spread them out on the table before me. Then I still could not find her name. At that point, I called her over to me.

 

I asked her, “Do you see your name anywhere?”. Then without hesitation, the woman became infuriated by the fact that the piece of paper that her had name on it was next to the box haphazardly, and was nowhere near being inside the box.

 

I simply didn’t see it there. Countless minutes of useless agitation and there she is accusing me of pulling her name out of the box so that I did not have to call her name to go into the Food Pantry. And I had done all of this on purpose to hurt her.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhh the sore humanity of it all!!

 

So then I hear her scream, “That’s just wrong! I’M NEXT!!”.

 

Umm, no you are NOT!! I put her name back in the box and shook the demons out of it and pulled a name, that was yet again still not hers.

 

Then she asked if she was next. And I told her with a straight face that she was not. And that caused more “Oh Woe Is Me” crap. So I was so happy that she was actually (and legitimately) the next person after that to go in. Only to get rid of her.

 

I don’t play favorites and I never will. It is a different circumstance if the social worker makes a plea to send someone in ahead of the crowd, due to whatever reason. I just go by what she says.

 

Meanwhile, out in the hallway was roaming Miss “I Don’t Speak English”.. getting more and more concerned as I never called her name. I didn’t have to. She had her turn this morning when she helped out.

 

And then I would eventually “leave my post” and have the box unattended. And she went through it to see that there were no more papers in it. By that time there were only three people left and I pulled them out in no particular order and knew who was first, second, and third.

 

After that (in broken English… more like shattered), she asked me why her name was not in the box. I did my best to speak in smaller words saying that she had her turn in the morning.

 

She ignored me.

 

She then would see a resident hanging around the door of the Food Pantry and when that woman immediately strolled in, our little greedy one decided to park it there. She’s not stupid by any stretch of the imagination.

 

The real person that would be next would be invaded upon and then it was time to RING THE BELL!!!

 

Our greedy one rolled inside and words were spoken by the one whom she had transgressed against.

 

Then in an effort of wanting peace, she retreated her anger and the two left standing in line just moved out of the way and allowed her inside. She would end up coming out with just a few cans of food and maybe a couple bags of beans. Nothing major. Its not like she broke the bank or anything. Everyone gets the same thing. Unless you recall the strawberry flavored milk debacle in a previous blog post.

 

After the last two went in, I came straight home.

 

Luckily I didn’t snap. But I am sure exhausted.

 

I’m irritated by the fact that people have the guts to accuse me of doing things that I never did. I can see how maybe she might have felt that way. However, I never got the benefit of the doubt. What she saw (or thought what had happened) was automatically LAW??

 

Screw that.

 

It’s over for today, and this month. And people snicker when I call it “my time of the month”. I wonder if they actually get it or not. Because one thing is for sure, the residents here sure don’t.

 

I just wanted to come home and scream. People are most likely lucky I didn’t do that either. I’m sure the police would have been alerted.

 

UGH!!

 

 

 

 

 

Milk Madness

“Five enemies of peace inhabit with us – avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.”~ Petrarch

So its been a while since I have posted a story for you about our glorious goings-on at the food pantry. This one is a winner!!

Food pantry distribution happens here where I live once a month. (What I call “my time of the month”.) And it never seems to surprise me how the elderly neighbors can get so rowdy and ruthless over food that is in plentiful stock and the fact that everyone knows that nobody will go without.

The perk that I personally enjoy is that I am able to get in and get out and take whatever food I need first before anyone else goes in there, as I am there to make sure that everyone gets their food items in the best orderly fashion that is possible. That is all.

So I have volunteered my time to help out, calling numbers of apartments so that each person has a chance to go. There is not list of names, it doesn’t go one after the other.

Its like a lottery drawing. And we’ve been doing it this way for many, many months now. Nobody here should be a stranger to how it works.

Today’s surprise was that there was a nice selection of Strawberry flavored milk. One pint bottles. Not bad! It definitely has been a while since we’ve been given something like this.

Once the first few people were showing it off that they had it. So people were curious and interested.

But still, the avarice of these elderly people is amazing. There are a couple of people who give “problems”, but I am able to get a few steps ahead of them and deal with it. But this time, one of our esteemed neighbors had faked putting their slip of paper into the box and actually held on to it, and when I was ready to call numbers… this person attempted to get in FIRST. But when I had alerted the social worker that I had not called their number, they were refused. When their evil plan was ruined- they tried to use the excuse that they didn’t understand English.

It didn’t work.

When more and more people were coming in and out and talking about the strawberry milk, people were really getting out of control. Each person got ONE. Only ONE pint of the milk. The accusations began to fly over people getting two, three, even five of them. Which simply isn’t the case.

Others were apparently coming up with a plan to gain more than just the one that they were allowed and sharing their plans with others. Not exactly brilliant motives there.

Wouldn’t you know it.. an actual physical FIGHT broke out amongst three residents over strawberry flavored milk. People were throwing punches against their own neighbors. Mainly because those who were hearing about the plans to take more flavored milk than they would be given, were not liking the idea at all and believing that if these greedy people were successful then there would not be enough for the rest of them. And that, I would say is a safe assumption.

Three people get into it with arms and fists flying everywhere. It was chaos. Nobody could really tell who was doing the fighting, nobody could really tell who was trying to defend themselves, nothing. Everything was so unclear.

Needless to say that once this altercation had stopped, three people were pulled out and in the end sent home with NO food, and definitely NO strawberry milk. And two of them were pulled aside.

But at least I can say that nobody was physically hurt to the point where they were needing medical attention. Just a bunch of angry egos and greedy-minded plots that were exposed and ruined.

It seems as if each time this part of the month rolls around, there’s always something.

After the “Milk Madness”, I was eyewitness to two other people who were frustrated that their numbers were not being called. I pull the slips of paper out of the box and whatever is there, gets called. I believe that both of them just didn’t have the patience to wait any more. They had been waiting for over an hour. But today’s distribution took over TWO hours in total until we had the last person called in. It is a bit ironic to have gone that long because last month, everyone was taken care of in less than an hour. And it was about the same amount of people from last month compared to today.

These two people had such poor attitudes about it as well. I’ve seen people get up and leave for whatever reasons. But they were not complaining about the wait and how unfair things were. They waited as long as they could, until they could wait no longer and then they decide to leave. That’s just the way it is.

People who are 65 years of age and older, actually throwing punches over strawberry flavored milk. The elderly have no business getting into fights. Nobody’s health can take that kind of stress. Especially those who were involved in this today. Shouldn’t they know already that this kind of behavior could do something horrible to their bodies? I guess not.

Can you stand it???