Tri Stories: Community Work...That’s What’s UP!!



Me & my MINI Bff's
Pulling weeds



Tri Stories: Community Work...That’s What’s UP!!

My Saturday training was replaced by my participation in University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) 9th annual Day of Service & Reflection (DOSAR)…….What a WONDERFUL experience!! I got a good nights sleep on Friday, and was ready to go Saturday morning, I awoke to cloudy skies & COLD Chi-city temps, I mean…..BRRRRR……temps read 40 degrees, and the skies looked as if they were going to start crying about the temps in any second….even the skies are tired of these cold cloudy days!! I do a few sun salutations and bundle up, jeans, long socks, long sleeve shirt, thick sweater, topped off with a puffy vest jacket….BUNDLED UP!! 07:00 I’m out the door, heading down to the University.

My, Mini bff's striking a pose

I registered for this event with Liz, a dear friend and nursing colleague…..We both laugh at how many layers of clothes we have on……we both had the Michelin man look going on, Lol….. Liz was topped off with a thick pair of work gloves that her husband handed to her as she headed out (smart man)……After a welcome, outline of the day’s event and light breakfast in the registration tent, we board our buses heading out to our location……One of the great things to witness was the amount of youth participating in this event, VERY NICE to see…….I think is important to get the youth out working in their communities allowing them to develop a since of respect and pride for the neighborhoods they live in. I’ve worked with the youth since I was 13 yo starting off as a day camp counselor at Caribe Day Care in New Haven, Connecticut, I’ll never forget that job, it was my first job and one of the best jobs I ever had. I knew back then my work would always involve the youth!! On the bus I quickly meet my three *mini* Bff’s for the day! They were full of energy and ready to get down and dirty, oh, they also LOVED the camera…..My type of bff’s….Lol……



 

Mr. Gregory
Master Gardener
Talking about the history of the community & The
Green Lots Project

 

Liz, transferring soil

Arriving at our site in the Bush neighborhood 83rd and Buffalo, we were greeted by Mr. Gregory Bratton, Master Gardner of The Green Lots Project (An urban vegetable garden initiative) Mr. Bratton’s energy was unexplainable as soon as he began speaking I was captivated by every word. He began by telling us about the neighborhood, which is in a food desert ( wayyy to common in Chi-city), not to mention there is a lack of near by public transportation…..As he spoke I began to scan my surroundings, ya, see initially exiting the bus I was so wrapped up in being cold that I didn’t pay much attention to where I was, we all just muttered about how cold it was…..But as Mr. Gregory talked about this initiative and how it all began, I began to take in my surroundings, noticing  on this block where we were standing, there were about eight houses, out of the eight five were boarded up………two empty lots one on each side of the street, one lot held our soil and the other was the garden…….Wow……I also noticed a bunch of neighborhood kids that had began to appear, they worked for Mr. Gregory…….One young lady would later share her story with Liz & I, she’d worked in the gardens after school and also during college, using the $50 dollars/week she earned to help pay for her college tuition…..INSPIRING……It was clear to me that Mr. Gregory was a no nonsense man, who loves what he does.....INSPIRING!  I believe he’s been doing this for 25 years or more….I don’t remember……I was so overwhelmed with all the information he was providing us with, and at the dedication of the youth that worked with him. There was another young fella, who was EXTREMLEY hard working, soft spoken and polite, I kid you not this young man worked from start to finish without taking a break from the cold, unlike the rest of us, who scattered to the bus to warm up and have snacks…..Not him, he was WORKING the entire time, never once complaining about the cold or the wind gust……..INSPIRING!



Me, transferring soil



Our groups worked on two gardens, transferring soil, pulling weeds, racking and smoothing out the transferred soil……as we pulled weeds, all types of items were appearing, I narrowly missed slicing my hand with a HUGE knife that popped up, as another volunteer used a spade to loosen up the weeds, Liz found a tiny, tiny, baby doll, and soooo much broken glass, and old veggies that resembled turnips and mushrooms…..needless to say we pulled with caution.  As our time in the garden was coming to a close, a small group of us gathered around Mr. Gregory as he shared more stories about the neighborhood, he requested that we come back and see the garden in 65-70 day’s…….He didn’t just request, it was almost a plea, ya see, Mr. Gregory said “y’all come here for one day year after year, and I never see you again until the next year”…….Gulp…..He went on to tell us how this one garden would feed 57 families in the community, and how it would be nice for us to come back to see the finished work and meet the community residents……Liz & I make a promise to each other that we will return, end of July, early August!



Me, Mr. Gregory & Liz

 

One of the gardens we worked in



second garden we worked in

Waiting for our bus to pick us up, Liz and I

wander across the street and began talking to a community resident *Lynn* she was a Latino woman in her early fifties, she appeared much older, as she began to speak I noticed she only had two visible teeth………both on the bottom layer and they looked sharp as knives....Her energy and personality was sooooo inviting!! She’d tell us how she’d grown up in this neighbor hood and how the name “Bush” came to be, Lynn would share in detail stories of crime and corruption, telling us a bit about the families that lived on her block and about those who used the boarded up houses to do drugs in…….She shared these stories with a great sense of pride in her community, Lynn had two dogs that were chillin’ in the front yard behind the gate, she lived her with her husband, two dogs and a cat……..She would tell Liz & I that she was a “hustler” when I asked where she worked…..Lynn explained she’d always done odd jobs, she reminded me of a FREE HIPPIE.....who was a bit tough around the edges, only because she needed to be in order to survive…….I mention to Lynn, that I heard the steel mill used to be located behind her property ( Mr. Gregory told us that ), “YES” she say’s then adds “now there bringing the concert here!” She was excited, as she referred to the Dave Matthews Caravan concert that  would be arriving this summer……Funny, I too was initially thrilled about the Dave Matthews Caravan arriving……but as I took a closer look around, I could see that all to familiar look, the look that I’ve seen in soooo many urban Chicago neighborhoods…..I noticed the new school, bike lanes, new side walks and very clean grounds just where the concert was to be held……I also noticed not one of the boarded up houses had a for sale sign…….I dunno, it  just left me with that feeling, that feeling that Lynn and her family would be pushed out of their community due to gentrification…….Lynn spoke about a new highway that is supposed to run down 83rd street, a stones throw away from her home…..she spoke with so much excitement about all the upcoming changes to her neighborhood……It made me a bit sad inside, as I’ve watched many neighborhood in Chi-city go from affordable to unaffordable in what seems like over night……I stood there wondering if Lynn ever thought about the possibility that she would be replaced by a new concert venue and million dollar condos…….SIGH……

Liz & I reporting for duty!
Bundled up looking like Michelin man....Lol

Our bus arrives and Liz and I share WARM HUGS with Lynn as we say good bye, she said  "MAKE SURE you come back and see the garden", “we will” Liz & I say in unison……..As we board the bus the skies open up and it begins to rain a steady cold rain……I sit on the bus gazing  out the window as we pull away…..I had a mix of emotions running through me….I glanced at Mr. Gregory and his youth who were lighting up the charcoal for their post gardening cook out, I take another look over at Lynn’s house and smile as I watch her let the dogs out for play time……I close my eye’s for a few moments, then I say to Liz, this has been such a wonderful experience……educational, & humbling……as the bus pulls off I look at the new side walk and paved roads and internally say a silent prayer for Lynn & the Bush community…….

I WILL participate in this community event next year, and continue to help educate the community in Preventative Health and Wellness……Ya, know I ALWAYS learn sooo much from the community members, I only hope they learn as much from me……Such a great volunteer experience!!

Peace,

T



Mr. Gregory & Me
Peace, Love & Community Work
Y'all