Made Me Smile

When the request first came into me asking if I was free at 12:30 on a Wednesday my initial reaction was no, since Wednesday is the sacred day of Mah Jongg. If someone needed me early in the morning or later in the day on hump day that would be fine, but never during the middle, lunch hour of Mah Jongg. Now, not everyone is as precious with their Mah Jongg commitment as I am, but I never would skip the game to do something mundane like laundry or the dentist.  
That being said, the request was for me to go to Croasdaile Village, a local retirement community, to accept the donation they were making from their virtual food drive and for me to say a few words. Croasdaile had been doing drives for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC for a number of years, but this year was their biggest donation ever and they wanted to have a little ceremony for the BIG check presentation. Of course Mah Jongg could be abbreviated for such an occasion.
I arrived at the main desk where the cutest couple, Larry and Betsy DeCarolis, chairs of the food drive, met me with great enthusiasm. They escorted me to the auditorium where I met other residents who were donors to their drive. I helped Besty hang the posters she had made to publicize the drive as residents, rolled in and took their seats.  
It was quite an official occasion. I was seated with seven other dignitaries and given the addenda for the presentation. Men in suits and ties read from prepared remarks extolling the virtues of Larry and Betsy in their leadership to raise the money. I, having no need for a script when talking about this subject, got up and talked about how invisible food insecurity is in our society and the shame people feel about needing help with food. The audience gave a little gasp when I told them that just the Durham branch of the food bank serves over 106,000 people annually, some week after week. I thanked them profusely and promised that we would take their $15,300 and turn it into $153,000 worth of food.
Afterwards, Betsy hugged me and told me she had the best time running the food drive. I told her I hoped she would do it again next year and promised to come back. I left on a cloud much bigger than one I would have been on if I had played Mah Jongg all day and won every hand.  
Getting a chance to have a ceremony to hand over their check meant the world to these people. They should be celebrated because they did a wonderful thing to encourage their community of people, who are well taken care of, to share with others who need help. Thanks Croasdaile Village and especially Larry and Betsy. You made me smile the whole afternoon.