Fridays with Elbert vol. 2

Elbert is full of ideas and intentions. Each day that he is in the office he spends significant time asking David to research auto and land auctions.

"Hey, uh, David," Elbert says in his scruffy but quiet voice. "When you get a minute can you look up land auctions in Alberta, Canada."

Yes, I said Alberta, Canada. Sometimes he asks David to research plots of land that are close to where he currently resides, Atlanta. One might assume that would be a good idea since he currently has extremely limited resources. But for Elbert it seems like the sky is the limit. Elbert has some goals and ideas about what he wants out of life and where he wants to be.

Sometimes those goals don't seem incredibly logical, but last Friday they were.

We all know August in Atlanta can be miserable, especially if you don't have air conditioning. I have sweat dripping off my face just by walking to the mailbox. Very little energy is exerted. The heat just gets you.

I can only imagine what it must be like for Elbert. He has no house or apartment to retire to in the evening. There is no oasis from the unbearable mid-day sun or lingering evening mugginess. Last Friday, Elbert decided it was time to address this problem.

"Uh, Megan," he said shyly. "Do you know where I can get an air conditioner. You all don't have one around here do you?"

"No, Elbert. That's not one of the items that constitutes as essential, household furniture. We don't get those in here."

"Well, uh, if I got someone to give me one do you think I could plug it up and drag it out to my little place in the woods."

I wasn't here to see it, but I'm sure Megan's face made a questioning look. Possibly a smirk. And if there were others in ear shot, a moment of laughter might have taken them over.

"I would only need about 400 ft of extension cord," Elbert said convincingly.

"Elbert," Megan paused. "Where are you going to plug that up?"

"Oh, well," again Elbert emphatically trying to convince her that this was a suggestion that one might hear everyday. "There's a plug outside by the door."

I can just imagine coming in one day and seeing a bright orange extension cord running the length of our parking lot that spans the width of several thousands of square feet of warehouses. At the end of the 400 ft orange trail there would be Elbert reclining in a hammock, his t-shirt blowing slightly with the power of the cool air forcing out of the air conditioning unit, and a refreshing drink with a decorative umbrella in hand.

I wish Elbert could have this oasis. I wish this was true for Elbert and so many others that are homeless. Walking the Atlanta streets day and night in the sweltering heat.

Elbert's ideas and intentions provide some entertainment for the Furniture Bank staff. Only because they seem so outlandish to us. But when you really think about it, what one of us wouldn't dream up the same if we had no escape from the heat.

Fridays with Elbert vol. 1

Apparently Friday's are exciting days around the office. I'm off on Friday's so I miss the fun, but the entertaining stories get passed along.

As I've said in previous blogs, Elbert has become central to the life of the Furniture Bank even though he does not work here and really has no particular reason he needs to hang around.

Several Friday's ago Elbert had a run in with the coffeemaker. David recounted the story for me:

I was on the phone talking with a donor.

'Yes, we take mattresses. Can I get your zip code? That will help me determine what day we can come out and pick the mattresses up,' he was talking in his polite, customer service voice.

Suddenly I heard this loud dripping sound. I turned my head and there was light brown liquid flowing from the coffeemaker. He focused on the donor, "I'm...I'm going to have to call you back," he said as he hung up.

The liquid was all over the place, David explains with emphatic motions with his hands and arms. I mean everywhere and spreading!

Elbert was outside smoking a cigarette.

David rushed through the front door to get outside, "Elbert, there's a situation with the coffeemaker. I'm going to need you to come in here and take care of this." He busted back through the Furniture Bank entrance and began to clean-up the mess.

He was good about trying to clean it up, but halfway through he decided he needed a break, David said with a note of question.

This is particularly funny because for the blocks of time Elbert is around the office his main activity, if you can call it that, is sitting. It's not like he was moving furniture in 90+ degree weather like our donations crew. He sits, asks David a random question here and there, and drinks cup of coffee after cup of coffee.

"So, what happened here, Elbert?," David said.

I'm not sure how the conversation continued, but Elbert eventually revealed that he decided to simplify the coffee making process. Apparently, in his rat race of a day, he couldn't spare the extra thirty seconds to add cream, sugar and stir the coffee. Instead, he thought it much better to add the cream prior to brewing the coffee.

Since then the coffeemaker is like driving behind an out-of-towner. Sometimes it clips right along and then suddenly it slows to an abrupt stop and then revs back up again. Lonnie started coffee this morning at 8 a.m. and it was still brewing at 10:30 when I got my second cup.

The broken coffeemaker is quite unfortunate since Elbert drinks several pots a day.