Hanging Out ... At the Senior Center

Every Wednesday at noon around 75 senior citizens come to the at Eno Memorial Hall to enjoy a hot meal (delivered by McLean) and good company — all for the bargain price of just $2.50. Last Wednesday I stopped in to serve food, call tables, and clean up.

When I walked in I was greeted by Mona Martinik and Mary Ames, who are affectionately known as "m & m" (Nancy Trask, another server, wasn't there that day). Both gave me big hugs, and then put me straight to work. My primary role was to blow a whistle and call tables to the buffet. Sounds easy, but it's not. Each table has a number on it, and the caller (me) has 10 corresponding numbered paddles,  visual aids in case folks don't hear the announcement. Before calling the first table, you must make sure the paddles are sufficiently shuffled so as not to be accused of favoritism — this is very important, I discovered.

My whistle blows brought on nods, cheers of approval, and, a "Just a little too loud, dear." Table 6 heckled me throughout the process when they discovered they would be called last. I never even got to blow my whistle for them as they went rogue and started lining up before I even noticed! Next time I'll make sure they are not last.

All the while I was blowing my whistle, Mona and Mary were serving up the food with another guest server, State Rep. Linda Schofield. They have service down to a science.  

Wednesday's menu was chicken divan, rice pilaf and butternut squash puree. Not only do Mona and Mary serve food, they also serve up tenderness and compassion.  Mona and Mary know everyone — and who is having what problems. They advise on all subjects and fix problems as they arise.  

This past Wednesday, Leland Holcomb turned 94 years of age. Mona went right up him, offering congratulations and good wishes. Leland said, "I haven't told anyone.  How do you know?" Mona and Mary always know. Mona then called everyone to attention for a robust singing of Happy Birthday.

Every Wednesday, after the meal, students and staff from St. Mary's appear and clean up — a great example of how fortunate we are to live in a community that values volunteerism and service. Like clockwork, forks and spoons go in one bin, knives in another, and plates are scraped into a trash bin with a spatula — it makes the washing go quicker. 

I was assigned the spatula scraping and somehow on my first swipe managed to send a spoon flying deep into the trash can. Mary saw the look of horror on my face and helped me dive in to retrieve it. Luckily there wasn't too much trash yet and we found it (along with a lovely Christmas vase, which we decided to salvage). Mary turned to me and said, "We'd better not tell Mona about this." But I did eventually, get the system down. While I scraped, the St. Mary's students happily cleared plates, washed dishes and then served dessert.

All in all, it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon. The food is delicious, the company is wonderful, and it's just plain fun.

To sign up for a Wednesday lunch, give Kathy Marschall a call at the senior center at 860-658-3273. The menus are posted on the town website and in the Senior Center Newsletter.