Last Wednesday I called around Watertown trying to catch up with Velarie. It had been a week since I had heard she left via limo. I called the Sheriff Toby that Vel liked so well on our initial trip. He had not heard from her, so I called the Watertown police department. The good news there was that she had not appeared on their radar. The next couple of calls were to thrift stores as I know how she is drawn to them. The last call was to the Salvation Army. No one had seen her. My thought was...no news is good news. This past week, I ran into Julie from St. Francis House. She caught me up. Velarie found herself an apartment in Watertown (we think living assistance). She returned to Sioux Falls to pick up some furniture items that she had purchased at St. Vincent's Thrift Story. A Watertown taxi was her mode of transportation. Velarie reminded Julie to not let me know of her where beings. I continue to celebrate her health and happiness. Velarie is exactly where she told me she wanted to be two months ago in New York City.
The good news is that Velarie's book arrived from the University of Nevada-Reno via email today. The bad news is that my parents stopped by the St. Francis House today to deliver Velarie Sunday's New York Times. Julie informed mom, that Vel called a limo this morning (I guess her social security check showed up), loaded all her belongings into it, and headed to Watertown. I am dumfounded.
I returned to the classroom today. In bed this morning, I wondered if it was too late to call in and ask if I could resubmit for a year sabbatical instead of just the semester. Since I teach at 11 and this thought was at 8 am, I was surmised that I may be too late.
I am a teacher. I want to make that absolutely clear. I love my job, my students, and my life. It is just the shock of schedule to which I have become less accustomed.
The classes were great. I was turned on. I am thrilled to be back. What I have found is that the internet has become an obvious vertebrae to the spine of my courses. I actually assigned clips from YouTube and did not hand out hard copies of the syllabus; they will be received electronically.
After classes, I went on personal tour of all the new campus changes. Wow. The Union - Pierce Gym changes are impressive. I went to get my mail. There was a package that had my card taped to it. In it...my camera!!! Alleluia. It was strange because the card that I left at the airport had my cell phone number written on it. This card did not; there wasn't a note nor indication of who had found it. The memory card had been erased, so that was a bummer. However, I am not complaining. It is another God thing.
My father always told me to go into every situation expecting nothing, and you will never be disappointed. Once again...I should have listened to dad. I went to see Velarie yesterday at St. Francis'. Her smiling hospitality that I experienced last week was short lived. I brought her a quart of her favorite Butter Pecan ice cream. When I walked into the communial living area, she was less then thrilled to see me. Velarie told me that she wanted nothing from me including seeing my face. She told the man with whom she was speaking that I was the government leech that had found her in New York. She asked, "How did you know that I was at the library? How did you know to find me there?" I tried to reassure her that I didn't, but she was hearing nothing of it. Vel almost screemed that she wanted nor needed nothing from me. She said that - despite my interference - she now had her photo ID and SS card, and as soon as her other SS checks arrived, she would be moving to the family farm in Watertown to open her own printing press. God Bless her.She told me that she gave the socks and slippers that I had bought her last week to another St. Francis patron, and I was not to help her with anything again. She called me two-faced, manipulative, contolling and sneaky - basically everything but a white girl was a fair description. Actually, that isn't even true. Karilee and I stood around the corned and listened to her continued rant about the evils of Kim Bartling. She went on to tell the sweet man who was gracious enough to listen to her, "Don't let her beauty trick you. She is a dangerous." ...She thinks I'm pretty!!!I left sad. I really thought that we had turned a corner next week. Unfortunately, the reality is that Velarie will always return to our lowest moment when she sees me. She believes that I took the money that she hid in her khaki pants. Truth be told, I think the money probably was lost when I disgarded her soiled clothes when she left for the hospital. So maybe I am responsible for the $200. I am considering giving her the cash just to see if she'll relax. I ask my reader's, what would you do? I called the Reno copy center last week. They promised that the had not forgotten about me nor Velarie's book. I can't wait to check it out (pun totally intended).
