Kitty litter and blood

12/7

I get to the church after lectionary study group to find the south end of the steps covered with kitty litter and my Mexican recycler alseep in the north door. His overflowing cart nearby. Not a good start.  I tell him, Mi hermano, por favor, no puede dormirse aqui duriente el dia...but he’s sound asleep. 

Inisde there are more problems. The bureaucratic morass around the boiler seems to be at least getting a strategy, but how long? We’ve put over $60,000 into it already. Without it, things will start to fall apart.  Jane’s Sanctuary group will not be able to stay. Ted’s crafts fair is coming up in ten days. He won’t do it in the cold again.

And then the reality of the financial situation is chilling, too. Without a major infusion, like I said, this will all go away. We need Noche Flamenca, we need...well, we need. And we need a clean up strategy. My stress is rising. 

Back outside, I almost lose it. A couple has raised a canvas tarp in front of our main door and is setting up camp. You can’t sleep here during the day, I say. As exepcted, they respond, But we’re not sleeping.  Come on, I say, you know you can’t do this. I’m about to explode. I can’t have fought this long to reclaim the steps to lose them to an encampent again, just a year after removing the gates. 

I get them to move. I wake up the recyler , get him to move too. I go back inside and tell Danielle that the door must absolutely be open, even if it is now much harder to lock because it’s been jimmied. The doors must stay open. So we open them. 

At times like this, the only thing to do is sweep. I have to deal with that kitty litter. So I get the snow shovel and a bucket and start scooping up the litter. Then the broom. Then under the first layer, I find it. A pool of blood. A big pool of congealing blood. What could have happened here? So I call 311. Have a hard time explaining what’s going on. Finally the woman on the other end of the phone  says Are you concerend that a crime was committed or do you want it cleaned? 

Both I say. 

Hold on, she says.  Minutes later, she says that the police are not initerested.
Well what about the cleaning? I ask. 
Well, you’ll have to just tlak to the person responsible for that at the church, she says. 
Well then, thank you very much. And as they say at Jane’s church, and so it is.

Amanda looks up advice online. I go across the street and buy peroxide. Pour it over the blood and watch it bubble.  Let it sit awhile. Then Amanda and Danielle haul water and we pour it over, washing away the litter. And blood. It’s getting dark. I’m cold and tired. Yeah, it’s time for a warm pub and a pint.