Tales of a Square Peg

I'm training The Lady, The Man and The Girl pretty well, but there are still a few things that they don’t quite get:

1.  Puppy teeth toughen up slippers.  My family only wears the slipper things in the house.  I guess it’s because slippers aren’t tough enough to wear outside.  Ever since I moved in, I’ve committed myself to toughening up those flimsy things by chewing on them so The Lady, The Man and The Girl can wear slippers outside too.  But what does it get me?  A firm “No Sir!” and a wave of the finger from The Lady -- and even from The Girl!  But I think The Man is starting to understand.  He says “Awww” and giggles when I get a hold of his slippers…finally -- some appreciation!

2.  The rabbits want me to play with them.  A family of rabbits lives under a bush near my special area of the yard; and they'd like to play a game of Chase with me.  I just know they want to play -- why else would they sit so still whenever they see me?  You see, every game of Chase needs a good chasing route, and when the rabbits are sitting still, they're just thinking up a challenging route for us.  But as soon as we see each other and the route-planning starts, The Lady and The Man say "Leave the rabbits alone, Charley."  And before you know it, the rabbits are gone.  And so is our game of Chase.

(A Model of the Milwaukee Rep's A Christmas Carol stage set)

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, A Christmas Carol is a universal story of hope -- something I think everyone needs more of, especially this year.  But there’s another side to the Milwaukee Rep’s production of A Christmas Carol -- another story of hope in an unlikely circumstance….

The mom of a struggling family was terminally ill.  Like most moms, her first worry wasn't about her disease -- instead, she worried about the kids....and how their Christmas might be ruined because of her illness.  Christmas came….and it was the best the family ever had: all because of people who cared.  These people got presents for the kids that the parents could never afford.  They arranged a day at the spa for the mom, giving her a space in time where her real-world worries wouldn’t intrude.  The people even got everyone in the family new clothes -- items that had been an unheard-of luxury only a few weeks before.  The family cherished that last Christmas together; but some months later, the mom succumbed to her illness.  The family was sad, but they remembered the kindness of those people, and they held that last, very special Christmas in their hearts forever.  These memories comforted them when they missed mom the most and even gave them hope for the future.

This is a true story; and it happened because of our own Milwaukee Rep’s A Christmas Carol.  But how?  After each performance of ACC, costumed actors greet the audience as they exit the theater and collect donations.  Then right before Christmas, all of the Rep’s employees – everyone from the cleaning crew, to the costumers, to the admin staff – go shopping with collected donations so they can “bring Christmas” to a struggling family.  The next day, everyone at the Rep wraps each present, and then they go out and personally deliver them.  The families to whom the Rep “brings Christmas” are clients served by a non-profit agency that is selected by the Rep earlier in the year.  The selected agency also receives collected donations.

(pictured above, Lanise Antoine Shelley, star of this year's "Eurydice" ready to be "Santa" in 2006.)

Annie Jansen Jurczyk, the Rep’s Fund Development Director tells me the Rep’s been helping Milwaukee non-profits and families through ACC performances for 15 years.  First time you’ve heard about this?  Well, the Rep doesn’t do this so the newspaper will pick up the story and say how great they are, or even that some some blogger will write about it.  They do it because, for them, it’s the right thing to do.  And a lot of people who go to ACC each year feel the same way.  Like the family with the kids who actually bring their piggy banks to the play.  Each year, these kids save money to give when the play’s over. 

(BTW: That's Annie & GG in the picture)

All told, since 2001, people who go to see ACC have given over $165,000 to seven different agencies and brought Christmas to over twenty families in our community.  That’s a lot of change bringing a lot of hope to people when they need it most.

So, if you go to see ACC this year (and I hope you’re planning to), toss a dime, quarter, dollar – or whatever you may have rattling around in your pocket or purse or piggy bank to Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit or even old Scrooge himself  -- and you’ll be a part of A Christmas Carol’s other story too.  Like Annie says, “I don’t care if it’s just the change in your pocket; every bit of change makes a difference.” 

Installment #2 in the Shining A Light Series

I'm proud to feature Matricia Patterson, she's the Telephonic Services Coordinator for 2-1-1 @ IMPACT a free hotline that's operates year-round for 24 hours, 7 days-a-week.

People dial "211" to find emergency food, shelter, financial help, healthcare – as well as places accepting donations that help those of us who are struggling in this weird economy.  Anyway, Matricia and I interface quite a bit through my role as a fundraiser for IMPACT -- the organization that operates 2-1-1.  I know her as one of those put-together, intelligent, positive -- but never overbearing -- women that I'd like to be when I grow up.  Anyway, that's how I know Matricia. 

But if you're one of her thirty or so nieces, nephews (yes, 30 -- she's the youngest of 7 kids) or extended family, you may know her as the person who taught you to drive.  Or she's the person who brings you to work on those "Take Your Daughter to Work" days.  Maybe you know her as the aunt who taught you the family recipes.  Or maybe you were one of the 10 kids she took skating.  Maybe she's the aunt who took you in and was your parent when your own parents were trying to sort their lives out.

Maybe you called IMPACT or 2-1-1 over the past 11 years and were one of the 2,500 people that Matricia helped.  You might have been like the lady who called because this past summer's floods caused mold in her mom’s basement and she didn't know what to do.  She called 2-1-1 and spoke with Matricia.  Matricia connected her with the Milwaukee County Emergency Management Division, and the mom’s basement problems got solved.

If you're involved with the Cathedral Center, you know Matricia as a Board member.  If you've been to County Board proceedings, you may have seen Matricia there too.  You could also know her from Cardinal Stritch, because somewhere in between the long hours that come with a supervisory role, inspiring her extended family and community involvement, she found the time to squeeze in a Master's Degree in Business Management. (That's in addition to the Master's Degree in Social Work that she already has.)  And did I mention that she's the President of the Wisconsin Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS)?

The few words posted here don't begin to scratch the surface of how brightly Matricia shines, but what is it that makes her shine so brightly?  At her job, it’s knowing that she really is making a difference -- like the calls where she's helping people get access to lifesaving prescription meds that may seem out of reach.  Her commitment to her profession drives her to be active in organizations that deepen her understanding of community issues.  But above everything else, Matricia gives her parents all the credit  (See moms and dads, our kids WILL appreciate everything we do one day!).  She says her parents "made me who I am."  They instilled a "strong work ethic" and exposed her to community leaders, spirituality and the positive brown images that are so critical for everyone to see....