50 Forward Monday:

I think I’ll start from the beginning. On our way to Nashville yesterday we stopped for lunch in Columbia. We looked around the Mizzou campus, then had a nice sit-down lunch at a local grill. This leisurely tour really prolonged our drive, but it was nice. Their bell tower eerily played the tune of our Alma Mater as we left…

Multiple radio scans, hangman games, and get-to-know-you questions later, we finally got into Nashville. Thanks to our trusty GPS Michelle (you’ll see that we seem to have a knack for nicknaming), we pulled up to the darkened church and former preschool building that now houses the Southeast Nashville Recovery Center, where we would be staying. It was about 8 pm, and the creepily deserted parking lot gave us some doubts….the doors were unlocked, so we walked into a dark hallway with old appliances sitting in the middle and signatures all over the walls. We tentatively ventured in, and then heard loud banging sounds! Scared and a little sketched out, half of us hid around the corner and the other half bravely faced whoever/whatever was approaching. It turns out that Larry, the man who came barreling down the stairs shortly after our arrival, is the building manager here. Despite our initial hesitancy, he showed us the living area, kitchen, and nice bunkroom upstairs. He lives here full-time, along with Janice and her two adorable dogs (one looks like a miniature lion!). They help rebuild homes damaged by the floods here, but we won’t be working with that group this week.

Once we hauled our stuff in, we set out in search of some dinner and groceries. That was a fun adventure, and then we settled in to prepare for our first day of work at Fifty Forward.

This morning, we woke up and headed to the main Fifty Forward center (there are 7 around the Nashville area). We met Deborah, with her fabulous Tennessee accent, and set to work preparing for the monthly lunches. We made quick work of that, and then the girls were set to work washing the inside blinds and windows while the two guys stood outside and directed traffic (there was an abnormally full parking lot since there was “Whale Training”… we had a few theories about what this is but never figured it out for sure).

We served Deborah’s homemade soup and bread, and even got to eat some! The monthly Monday lunches seem to be sponsored; someone pays for all the food in exchange for the audience’s attention for a brief presentation. Today a local eye doctor sponsored the lunch, and he talked about cataracts and basically about how he was the best in town for various reasons. Essentially, it was a sales pitch. I guess I just have such an aversion to bragging about myself that it was weird to listen to this doctor do it, but on the other hand it was a smart business move since so many elderly people do have to have cataract surgery. So that could best be described as interesting and eye-opening (no pun intended) to how other people’s styles of business.

We really didn’t interact much with the members there, though I did get to talk to a woman who told me about some of her recent excursions; last year, she ran a 5K race, hiked the Grand Canyon, and visited the Himalayas. I want to still be that able-bodied and adventurous when I’m older!

After lunch, we had an hour break before our next commitment, so we toured nearby Vanderbilt. Then we reported to a home where we helped in the Living at Home program. Case workers working for Fifty Forward have clients come to them with various needs, and this afternoon we helped Ms. Jones de-clutter her home. There was hardly room for our whole group inside the house since there was so much piled stuff. It was reminiscent of a hoarder’s home like on the TV shows. But in only a few hours, we managed to sort all of the living room and kitchen area into either trash or donation. She had a lot of dishes and cookbooks; unfortunately, there were also evidences of rats so a lot had to be thrown out. Luckily, we had gloves, but I was happy to fully sanitize myself later! It was a productive day and we definitely were able to help improve her living conditions. I’m still aghast at how someone could let so much pile up like that, but to each their own I guess. At night, we went downtown and enjoyed some live music!

-Hannah S.