Sanctuary by the sea
As I drove down to the waterfront town of Newport, Rhode Island I was excited to get some pictures o the water. I love water and the chance to spend some moments capturing the calm on camera got me out of bed and on the road early. So single minded was I in my hunt for photos that I forgot my folder with all my pertinent information and I forgot to eat.
I hit Newport and my stomach started to grumble. Money being very tight I rarely eat at restaurants on the Journey preferring instead to pack my food or hit a grocery store. On this day I was too hungry and a little cafe on the wharf called out to me.
I entered the Aloha Cafe and ordered an omelette and pumpkin muffin. Go big or go home, right? As I was enjoying my meal I noticed a woman walk into the cafe with a suitcase in tow. She walked up to the counter and the server who had helped me told the woman to hang tight and she would be back with a blanket. It became increasingly clear through the continued action that the woman was homeless and a regular.
When the server returned to my table to check on me my seemingly gluttoness meal was not sitting well. Knowing how hard my non-journey reality was and knowing how hard this woman’s day to day reality was I asked the server if I could anonymously pay in advance for the woman’s lunch. I gave the server my ten dollars and asked about the interaction I had just wittnessed.
She told me that the woman was a mentally i’ll homeless woman living in Newport but as the weather became cold the shelters filled an she had nowhere to go. The Aloha Cafe, where my stomachs simply would not let me pass, served meals daily to those who were not able to be served by the shelters. This woman had already eaten breakfast at the cafe.
First of all I was intrigued by the idea that the cafe regularly catered to the neighborhood homeless and hungry. Second of all I could not believe that my stumbling here happened by accident so I explained what I was doing in Rhode Island and asked if by any chance the owner of the cafe was around.
She smiled and asked me to just hang out for a moment as she went to the back carrying my business card. She came back a few moments later and said he’d be right with me. Sure enough, moments later, jovial and larger than life Jack Grant aproaches me and welcomes me back to his office. After explaining the Journey and the nature of my interest in dpeaking with him Jack agreed to be interviewed and to share the story of the Seaman’s Church Institute (SCI).
Founded over a century ago to give respite and an opportunity for prayer to those whose lives revolve around the seas today the Institute is the place of first resort for those in maritime distress. Jack explained that sometimes they help misguided sailors who set out without appropriate amounts of food or resources to reach their destination, sometimes they help when a vessle is damaged and the owners stranded sometimes they help yacht workers whose captains have refused to pay their salaries and, in the case of the woman I saw that day, sometimes they simply help those members of their seaside community who can not help themselves.
The Cafe, a way to earn funds to keep operating and a mechanism to provide food to those in need.
Maritime distress. It had simply never occured to me. My father, a Navy man and passionate sailor said of course he knew about the Seaman’s Church Institute, they dot our Eastern coastal waters. I never knew.
Jack himself an avid sailor who grew up around Newport had an entire career before he ever became involved with SCI. Upon reaching retirement he decided it was time to get involved in his neighborhood so he asked if he could help out. Shortly after they asked him if he’d consider becoming the interim superintendant while they conducted a search. You know the drill, many years later and still no search has been necessary as SCI found in Jack a man with the heart for all who walk in the door and the soul to keep vigil for those in need by the sea.
It has been a year full of such moments for me. The unplanned moments where the most exceptional of human beings are placed in front of me. Jack’s smile and warmth are still with me today and the knowledge of this small sanctuary by the sea makes me smile when I look through the pictures I originally set out to take that morning.
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
I visited Newport just this past summer for a little R & R with a good friend. I was recently unemployed and although watching my funds decided to take the trip. I have taken many trips before as much needed breaks from the workplace grind. Must say I believe I ate at that Cafe too, however your experiece was much more touching. Makes me a little embarrassed that I sat there eating, drinking and taking in the sights while other human beings were trying to survive the dad-to-day in the very neighborhood I was visiting. Kind of ironic. I was going there to escape reality, but for them there is no escape of reality. And their reality really stinks. For this experience we don’t need to travel to a resort town. This sort of thing is happening in each of our neighborhoods. However, sometimes we become oblivious to our surroundings or look the other way because we can’t deal with the reality of what we are seeing. My only thought is that next time we all are fortunate enough to take a vacation, maybe during that vacation we can schedule a little time to help out the locals and volunteer or give back in some way to that neighborhood.
I will be visiting your sight on a regular basis and wanted to say keep up the good work with getting the word out about people who are helping on a local venue. Community counts!
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Dafna Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Hi Chrissy! It would have been so easy for me to miss! Imagine the impact we’d have on this country if each of us did what you suggested and took a little time to care for the people who need a little help in the towns and cities we visit all around our beautiful America…
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