(or... Back Up The Roller Coaster)
OK - What we can agree on is this: Our team heard on the Thursday from a reputable source that the power at the Motel was going to be shut off, leaving the residents with no heat and an expected low of -15. Two of us drove over to the property to see if anyone needed help making alternate arrangements.
Which is where things get weird.
Version 1:
They arrived and went to the office building, the top floor of which is the manager's apartment. They rang the bell and no one came to the door. The manager's wife came out onto the balcony above.
The guys asked to talk to her husband and she said he wasn't feeling well and was asleep. They said that we'd heard that the power was going to be cut. She said that he was on the phone 'right now' dealing with that and it would be alright. (Feel free to go huh? as necessary)
The guys walked down along the rooms, knocked on a few doors to let friends know what we'd heard. They hadn't been told anything about it, and they were concerned, but at least now they had warning. One person later spoke to the manager about giving his notice to move out.
Later that evening, the manager phoned one of us at home and said that he couldn't have come out onto the balcony to talk this afternoon, because at that time, his wife was in the bath and needed his help getting out. But the bill had been paid, out of his own pocket, and everything was fine.
Our reputable source told us that the manager "had bought some time".
On Sunday morning, our group showed up to put on Breakfast and the manager came down. He told them that we had better stop interfering with his business and he could shut down Dinners and everything anytime he wanted to. One person spoke up to him, saying he had no power over us and we wouldn't be bullied.
He got angry and said that was it, we were out of there. No more Dinners, no more Breakfasts. We were banned from the property. He was in charge, not us. We packed up the eggs, the ham, the frying pans and everything else and left. We had the tailgate breakfast.
Version 2:
They arrived and went to the office building and rang the bell. The manager came out on the balcony and told them that the bill had been paid, and everything was fine.
The guys then walked down the property telling everyone that the power was going to be cut, scaring them, and a bunch of people moved out because of it.
On Sunday morning, our group showed up to put on Breakfast and the manager came down. He told them that he'd be happy to have us keep putting on Dinners and Breakfasts, but that he'd appreciate our not interfering with his business. One of the team got "mouthy" and the manager left.
He came down later, very surprised to find nobody there, and the tailgate breakfast taking place out back. He couldn't understand why we'd left. He'd certainly never banned us from the property. He was innocent and perplexed.
Pick a version and stick with it. Try not to think about it too much.
Last night we had a meeting, the first time we've all been together for nearly two weeks. Some of us have seen all this before, some are new to it.
Some of us are angry warriors, ready to dig trenches with our bare hands. Some are fresher to the battle, and therefore wiser.
Some of us know that Dinner has always been a means to an end, the end being to get to know people, and now that we know them, we want to act. Others see the intrinsic value of Dinner more clearly.
We debated whether it was time to take a stand on principle and say, "You can't just deny that you kicked us out. We know the truth. So now we're not playing nice anymore. The rules have changed and you can't win."
We could work in the background, organizing church groups to do a Dinner a week, lurk out back in our cars for anyone who needed a ride to the food bank, or hang out across the road at Timmie's, playing euchre. All the while, fighting a more public fight to have the Motel repaired and brought up to a human habitation standard. Very subversive.
Or should we play along? Pretend it never happened and show up on Wednesday with Dinner just as always?
We spent a lot of time talking through our hurt and frustration of the last 3 years. What needs to be done and what might go wrong and what if, what if, what if…
Until the wisest woman in the room asked simply, "What would the people who live there want us to do?" Silence.
Another wise woman spoke up and reminded us of how important the sense of community is at the Motel, of looking out for each other, of shared burdens and common experience and she said, "The people there would feel a great sense of loss if Dinner just fizzled away."
And they were right. So we sheathed our swords of justice, and TB phoned the manager. She left a message on his machine to the effect that we'd heard that we weren't banned after all and that we wanted to have Dinner on Wednesday.
We planned something that could be served tailgate style, just in case. We'd bring everything in foil pans so if something goes down during Dinner and we have to leave suddenly, we'll be able to leave the food behind.
We laughed together and dispersed.
By the time TB got home, there was a message on her machine. Sorry, misunderstanding, come back.
So we'll see what happens. One of us has been honest enough to admit that he's run out of cheeks to turn and if pushed, he will push back. So we may be out again. Who knows?
But - one of the things we talked about last night was that there've been several groups in the past who've tried to start 'ministries' at the Motel, had run-ins with the manager, and left. Given up.
TB said, "I guess that's the difference between us and them. We're not going away."
Roll on Wednesday.
r
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