The
morning dawned cold and wet. My sleeping bag and the grass around me is
drenched in dew. I can’t decide if skipping the tent was the right choice. I
have to meet Dave at quarter to nine for church, so I hurry boiling up my
breakfast and packing my things.
When
Dave picks me up I meet his wife Becky, and we head off to Palms West
Presbyterian Church. They have a traditional service at 10:30, but we’re going
to the 9 o’clock contemporary service. Dave says the traditional service is
quite formal, so I’m glad they have two services. It’s a lovely building with beautiful
floor-to-ceiling glass walls on each side of the sanctuary. In his usual jovial
fashion, Dave eagerly introduces me to many of his friends. They’re certainly a
friendly and joyful group of people and it’s a blessing to be surrounded by
Christian family again.
When the music starts up it’s
mostly songs I’ve never heard before. They aren't exactly chart-toppers. The cadence and rhythm just doesn’t flow smoothly. I’m usually a really
bad judge of music; I just don’t have the refined taste to notice the subtle
nuances, but even I can tell that the lady on the microphone leading the
singing is not a talented singer. Maybe it’s just the songs, I don’t’ know, but
something is off. When she reads through the announcements for the week I can’t
detect a personality. There’s a pair of large screens displaying the words for
the music, but the video guy seems to be struggling to keep the words centered
on the screen or even on the correct slide. For nearly half of each song, he’s
flicking through random verses and choruses trying to find what slide we’re on.
For friendliness and hospitality this church gets an A+, but not so much in the
media department. No biggie though, that’s not a major issue to me, but I know
it often makes a strong first impression for visitors; especially in my
generation and younger.
When
the young pastor steps up to the platform, the fourth Advent candle is lit and
he preaches a topical sermon on the theme of the fourth candle. He has a solid
exegetical style and a faithful adherence to the text. He seems like a really
nice guy too, with a humble, personable attitude. The sermon closes with a chorus
where we all hold hands and sing a song. There’s a half hour of refreshments
and fellowship before the traditional service starts, so I meet several more of
Dave’s friends and enjoy a few snacks. His wife, Becky needs to stay through
the traditional service to sing in the choir, so Dave brings me back to
Sunsport and drops me of at the front office.
I’ve
just got a half hour left till I have to either sign out or pay more, so I need
to go find this “Mary Anne” that supposedly has some work for me. Her lot was
pointed out to me earlier. It’s a large lot, actually just about the largest in
the whole village. It’s hemmed in thickly by broad palm fronds. There’s a
mid-sized RV and a Volkswagen camping van in the parking space. Behind them in
the thick trees there’s a camper trailer that looks like it’s been parked there
for 50 years. There’s a rotting deck built most of the way around it, and old
cedar shingles have been nailed directly to the aluminum shell of the camper. I
hear a circular saw running out back so I work my way around to find a middle
aged man building a storage shed out back.
“Is Mary
Anne around?”
“Uh,
yea, she should be right inside.” He starts toward me.
“Theresa
at the office told me Mary Anne might have some work for me.” He opens the door
to the camper and enters calling out her name. There’s no answer.
“It
looks like she must have gone somewhere. She’s probably not far. She’s easy to
spot too. She’s the only person here with multi colored hair.”
“Multi-colored?”
He nods. “Like… natural colors?”
“No.”
“Okay,
Thanks. I’ll see if I can find her.” As I turn around a see a large older lady
pulling into the driveway in a golf car. Her grey hair is filled with
highlights in purple and pink. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess this is Mary
Anne.
“Hello,
Mary Anne?”
“Yes!”
Her smile is almost explosive.
“I’m
Aaron Frost, Theresa at the front desk told me you were looking for someone to
do some work for you. I’m looking for work in the area, so I’m available for
hire. Are you still needing someone do to that for you?
“Why
yes! Absolutely!” Wow… she’s… spunky!
I’ve
got several years’ experience in both grounds maintenance and carpentry…” she
interrupts.
“Oh, so
you’re a landscaper!!” Well I didn’t exactly say that, but…
“Yea,
depending on what you want, I can probably do whatever you need.” She seems
elated by this prospect and hurries me over to the far side of the camper where
she wants to put in a walkway with masonry blocks. You don’t’ have to be a
landscaper for that. As we round the other side of the camper there is a large
addition actually constructed directly into the back side of the camper and
adding nearly three times the original footprint. The back yard is overgrown
with native palm shrubs and bushes. Between plants there’s a variety of items
that make the lot look like a cross between an art studio and a land fill. The
items are strewn and piled everywhere. Some of it looks like it’s been here
since before I was born. Mary Anne explains that the spot used to belong to an
artist. I can see evidence of his copper sculptures and plaster casts sticking
out from underneath the overgrown vegetation. Al is working away busily on the
new shed out back. As we circle the building Mary Anne points out one project
after another as fast as she can talk. Within minutes it seems like she’s just
suggested several months’ worth of work. She’s the kind of person who has difficulty
completing her sentences. She will start talking, but get stuck on a word she
can’t remember, get impatient and just jump straight to her next idea. I’d say
she’s one of the most eccentric people I’ve met. Ever. As we round the next
corner there’s another camper that looks even older. It’s literally rotting
straight into the ground where it sits.
“This
is the main project.” She informs me. “Moorley says that if I don’t have this
shed emptied and removed by the end of the month, they’re going to scoop the
whole thing into a dumpster and bill me for it!” I’m thinking if I was her I’d
take the offer. Next she takes me into the camper. I guess I should call it a
house since it has a deck built around it, hasn’t moved in decades, and has a
large addition built on to it. The inside is a rat’s nest of random things in
piles from floor to ceiling with narrow pathways. She points out a flooring job
that needs to be done and a tiling job in another section. I’ve definitely got
some job security here!
“So are
you saying here on the resort?” She asks
“Well,
I came yesterday on the free-day pass and just rented a tent site for the night,
but I wasn’t going to be able to stay unless I found work to pay for a
membership. If you think you can keep me busy for a while I’ll go ahead and sign
up to stay for a while.
“Oh,
you don’t need to do that. My membership allows me to have one guest for free,
so you can just stay here on my lot if you like and I’ll even feed you.”
“Well,
that sounds like a really good option actually. That would save me quite a bit!”
“Hop
right in the golf cart and we’ll head over to the office to get you signed up
as my guest.” Within a few minutes I am officially approved to stay at Sunsport
indefinitely for absolutely no cost whatsoever! And I have a job! It’s only
minimum wage, but with my living expenses covered, it’s all gravy! This is a
huge answer to prayer! I never even imagined something this good working out!
She treats me to lunch at the restaurant and we head back to her lot and get
right to work.
She sets me up emptying an
overstuffed closet and setting up shelves inside. As I unpack the closet I find
a mixture of tools, supplies, food, and anything else imaginable stacked into
the spot. I’ve got a feeling this is going to be one of the most interesting
jobs I’ve ever had. On the list of things to do I’ve got tiling, landscaping,
carpentry, gardening, and more grunt-labor than I could ever list. Mary Anne
may be crazy, but she’s a cool kind of crazy and a lot of fun.
As it gets dark, I finish up for
the day. My hammock goes up between two trees in her back yard and the sleeping
bag lines the inside to keep me toasty until the warm sun returns in the
morning. It looks like I’m set for several weeks at the very least, and by the
time I’m finished up working for Mary Anne, I’ll be better established in the
village and more people may ask me to do similar things for them! If I ever do
run out of work, I’ll have some savings built up from having lived without
rent, so I would have time to look for work at any of the farms or plant
nurseries in the area while still living here. I just might end up making out
quite well.
Soooo cool!!
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