No child's play

August 9, 2013

The Ramsey County building had a deathly long line of expectant recipients of medical care, food allowances, rental aid, and utility bill assistance, who seemed very confused in the arduous process. Forms are stored on the center post, though, upon locating the nearly empty pockets, potential service beneficiaries were uncertain as to which document best fit their particular needs. Some scrambled for a useable pen, flat surface in which to complete the forms, and retained obvious anxiety vibes that permeated their varied tones of flesh. Children accompanied their needy parents, quite a number were placated with sodas straight from a colored can, and a few coddled in too-warm wool blankets. After several hours of anticipating an expedient interview, people began sharing their sorry tales of being in the same waiting room yesterday and the day before, eventually sent away, since the agency could not accommodate them. Voices were rising, upset and foul language began to augment the surmising walls. Negative reactions stirred the crowd within hearing distance. It was easy to understand how increasing fear and insurmountable upset could turn a group of people into an impatient mob. A no good man, with a thin smile no wider than a pencil-drawn line on his face, turned his phone into an obnoxious rap stereo, ignoring the distressed looks from his neighbors. People milled about, dropping crackers that smashed into the ugly brown tiles, played musical chairs until there were no more seats to exchange, shuffled papers, and shared grim glances. Taelor and I became snappy with each other, and concerned about the length of the wait, discussed Option B for our afternoon plans. We got caught in the building angst, that germinated from the chairs in the room. I was tracking Black Leggings attached to a pair of red Keds, who had been standing directly ahead of us, in the initial line. When she was called to the Promise Land behind the “Staff Only” door, I felt the hope, and expectation of an immediate nature. Giddy with relief, my response to “those people” turned sympathetic. I knew we would leave them behind, to their own devices.