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| Food Pantry Co-coordinators Jane (left) and Cristina (right) with the Farmer Dave's produce donations last fall. |
She doesn't know I've called her Wonder Woman to my housemates. She has her hands involved in Farmer Dave's CSA, the food pantry, the community garden, the chamber of commerce, the church, the YAV program, the schools, the soccer teams, the Walk for Hunger.... Just to follow her around is an insight into food justice work. Jane is from Denmark. She used to work in a corporate Biotech company. She used to own her own chocolate-making business! Her husband James is a wizard, fixes anything, knows everything, and gives the children sermons at church. Thomas their son loves to read, he's tall, quiet, pretty funny when he speaks and great at basketball. Their younger son Kasper plays the recorder, plays soccer, and mindcraft and is pretty good at frisbe. Both kids always wear their red soccer uniforms (the Danish color) and they are all soooo intelligent. We "youth's" hadn't been the closest of friends but I've felt like one of the family when I'd ask Jane for help on my projects at her kitchen table in between Thomas and Kasper asking for help on their homework. They were the first family from my church I ever met, and the last one I saw. They've given me lots of support this year, I'll never forget them.
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| Jane (right) helping Barbara, Seabrite and Skyra roll out pasta dough at the
first Manna Monday.
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| Boy did they get some long noodles!! |
I started really thinking about them hard on Tuesday morning and here is a pretty crazy story about Jane's family.
I said Jane does so much for the town of Burlington. Monday she put an end to a high speed police chase. For real! You may have seen it in the news. It's crazy she and her kids are who they're talking about in this news report. This guy was being chased from the Burlington Mall when he fled after being approached about idling in a handicap space. Police chased him northward on Cambridge Street as Jane and I were driving south in separate cars. It was minutes after we closed the church from the Farmer Dave's distribution. Two police cruisers flew past me. Reports said an officer (probably the one that flew past me) fired two shots at the driver. He tried to hit the policeman, rear-ended a car in his lane, then swerved over and hit Jane head on. Totaling both cars. The dummy then got out of the car and tried to run away when they got him. A local news article about it is found here.
Jane's kids were in the backseat. They are fine, a few seatbelt bruises and a little shaken up. Both back at camp the next day and playing frisbe with me today. One of the officers on the scene was their neighbor whose kid played sports with her kids. Jane is ok, "just beat up and without a car" she told me Tuesday. They all are fine. Don't panic. Her four watermelons and two cantelopes didn't have such a fortunate outcome.
I was literally 2 stoplights behind her, I left the church about two minutes later because I went back in the kitchen to grab two watermelons we dropped and busted during Farmer Dave's distribution. I heard the shots and didn't think twice about it. I saw police swarming in from everywhere and decided to take a detour home. The thought crossed my mind, "sometimes Jane comes this way to the grocery store, but she's probably going home the other way because the kids are with her." I almost went all the way around the block to snoop and see what was up but I was running late so I went home.
I had no idea she was in that crazy mess, or exactly what all the crazy mess was until they texted me after midnight that she wouldn't be meeting me at the pantry in the morning.
Then I heard the NPR report on the way to work and put all the pieces together. I wanted to kill the guy. He's an idiot and he could have killed Jane--my only work supervisor who hasn't left me yet. I felt a crazy anger overtake me and had to pull over and calm myself down. (maybe I got my own mental problems I need to work on.)
If I hadn't gone back in the church for that busted watermelon I'd probably have been right in the middle of all that. Probably texting the roommates I was running late. I had some angels watching me. And lots of angels were watching her and the kids. Whew.
That particular spot on Cambridge Street where she was hit is where I picked up the older lady on the walker a few weeks ago from a previous post. It's a particular spot that I often get flashbacks to either my first day of work, or the day Gus died when I drive through. It always has been and continues to be slightly spooky.
It just takes an instant to take it all away. I am so thankful everyone can walk away from that accident and thankful for the police and medics. I pray for Jane and the kids. I pray for the idiot who I wanted to beat up Tuesday morning. He has no easy path before him. I pray for the annoying reporters bothering Jane. I pray for those I know, and those I don't know who didn't walk away from their accident. I pray that God can show us some signs of hope.
God of grace, thank you for today and that I am still here. Reveal yourself to us. Thank you for putting Jane in my life and for protecting her this week. Thank you for letting me drop and bust that watermelon--it was delicous when I ate it, but quickly forgotten when I realized what craziness was going on outside of my table. May our eyes be opened beyond the delicious watermelon in front of us. May we see your wonderful works and see how to support those in pain. Protect your children and help us show compassion to those who hurt us and make us angry. Amen
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| image from http://gawker.com/drug-cartel-busted-using-fake-watermelons-to-smuggle-we-1594695148 |
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