As Mike Bisaga and I stood looking out at a packed dining room ( I counted 34 men, women and children) he said first “isn’t this great” and then in the next breath “isn’t this sad”.  This was by far the biggest crowd we had to sit down and eat at the 6:00 dinner as many people are regularly still at the hospital with their children and end up eating later in the evening or nighttime.  One of the reasons was my secret weapon… Ricardo who I’ve become close to with his daughter Layla over the last year and a half (so neat to see her out of a wheelchair for the first time in 15 years and now working on walking w/o crutches).  He spread the word about our home cooked meal (again courtesy of Mike’s recipe and overseeing) so families made arrangements to be there.  The West County House by Mercy Hospital on Ballas… yes that’s the location Mark Camerer who I’ll get back to later has 20 rooms to house 20 families up to four people per room.  Presently I was told there are something like 7-8 international families staying with their children getting treated at Shriners Children’s so I wish I had paid more attention in my HS Spanish class.  

Now for our crew.  First-timers Doug Smedley and Tony Kalinowski were right on time and I immediately put them to work peeling potatoes…has become part of initiation and with 25 lbs. (I added 5 more) to do and trying to keep on Mike’s schedule they got right on it.  Our 3rd first-timer Mark Camerer missed out on the potatoes as he was either really smart or…by coming late because he had driven downtown despite what I think were very easy to understand instructions.  Mark got right to work and pitched in on everything needed the rest of the evening. Christopher Beahm made his second straight appearance and he worked again like a man possessed.  He claims it’s because he’s so young but all I know is his wife is damn lucky if he’s like that at home. I’ve been having different people work with Mike on the meatloaf as it’s the most important part of the meal and I don’t want to get stranded in the event he doesn’t come although I can’t believe anyone could have more fun than he has been the orchestra leader coordinating and getting all the food done tasting so good and right on time.  Harold Bates (who I’m so happy along w Mike have been at every meal since I’ve started ) volunteered and jumped right in even before Mike arrived and started dicing the onions to prep the 15 lbs.(again more than last time) of hamburger.  All I heard from them was “We’re going to need a bigger boat…or was that bowl?” as they started to mix the ingredients of garlic, onion, eggs, bread crumbs, BBQ sauce, spices (I swear Mike just grabs whatever is in the cupboard and throws in w S&P) to make a glob of hamburger which they formed into 8 loaves to be cooked.  Of course, they turned out delicious.  I again added another 6 Lb. can of green beans to what we have been making and w bacon, garlic, and onions were also a hit.  The reason for adding more food is that we make up individual meals when done for the people coming in later but this time only had enough leftovers for 8 meals which of course were gone the next morning.  Oh, by the way, all the hot buttered rolls and 80 C.C. cookies we made were gone by the time we left!

Besides seeing all the happy faces eating including many coming back for seconds and so many thanks from them another highlight was eating what we prepped with all the guys.  Since all of the dining room tables were filled we ate standing up around one large counter which was enjoyable as we again got to know each other a little better.  Everyone then chipped in and finished washing and cleaning everything we hadn’t got to while we were serving the meal.  As I was leaving I was stopped by the night manager who I’ve gotten to know and she said “Paul, by far you have without a doubt the best group that has served dinner here.  The food is fantastic, you’re all so cheerful and polite and the kitchen is immaculate when you leave.”  I hope not only the men that have served but everyone in FATC can be proud we are so well represented.  Thanks again to all that have helped and again especially Mike and Harold who have helped give a little reprieve for families that are going thru so much.  We’ll do it again in August and it seems to come so fast.