Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Memorable Moment: Standing in line for the first time at 62

Iris Dolphin walked briskly until she approached the place where about a dozen people were waiting in line. She gave them a glance, hesitated for a few moments, but then firmly took her place in the line.

Sporting red leather pants, matching sunglasses and an angry look on her face, Dolphin stood out from the crowd. That was, however, only the surface of what separated her from the rest of the people waiting in line at a food pantry at St. Benedict the Moor Center in Mott Haven, Bronx.

“I’m 62, and I’m standing on line for the first time in my life,” said Dolphin explaining the real difference between her and other people in the line. Her eyes sparkled with rage as she explained the circumstances she faces. “I’m in foreclosure. I’m forced to come here.”

Fifteen minutes later Dolphin was holding two bags of food in her hands. Pleased with the way she was treated by the volunteers in the food pantry, Dolphin seemed to have overcome the initial uneasiness about being there the first time.

“I guess I’m gonna be here every week,” she concluded, leaving the food pantry.

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