Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com October 7, 2020 There's a dustpan on my coffee table READER'S OASIS BOOKS 690 E. Main - Quartzsite (one block east of Family Dollar) By Jackie Deal Now I know that most people have gorgeous, glossy pictorial cof- fee table books displayed for their neighbors' gratification. My coffee table? ? A dustpan. Awe, common, it's only been there a couple of days. You see, I must have had a burst of domesticity sometime back when and then got sidetracked by some- thing more interesting. It's about the same with do- ing dishes, not my favorite thing. When I run out of spoons, I gen- erally wash dishes. Lately though, the forks seem to run out first. A mystery and I don't know why. I don't actually have a dish pan. I use a large bowl. It doubles as a serving dish for potlucks (when, oh when will we have them again?) It also is used with hot water to defrost my refrigerator. Something that must be done when the food plays peek- a-boo from behind the stalactites and stalagmites. Cooking is another thing I don't excel at. Yah, once upon a time I had to cook if my family was going to survive. Try feeding 4 teenagers on restaurant food. Kinda expen- sive. But now? Oh, joy, I excel at finding restaurant servings large enough to last me for several meals. My favorite restaurant even recog- nizes my voice at the drive-through. Could be I'm too well known. Washing clothes, better known as laundry- well, that's another sub- ject. I wash clothes when I run out of clean p……, um, socks, they run out about the same time. When the drawer is empty, that means I either wash clothes or buy more p..…um. Socks. Dust bunnies? I cultivate them. Perhaps they can be used for scien- tific experiments. After all, there's a limited supply of mice and guinea pigs. But dust bunnies? I can pro- vide an unlimited supply for every research company on earth. If peni- cillin was developed from mold just think what could result from re- search on dust bunnies! Washing the car can hardly be classified as a domestic chore but people say it's necessary. I'm so glad I hadn't washed my car for a year or so when the recent ash fell all over everything. Just think what a wasted effort car washing would have been had I been inspired to have done so. And now? Well, one mustn't rush; we may get more ash. And just like autumn leaves, why rake them up when tomorrow or next week there'll be more? My teenage son taught me that trick. "Mom, just wait til they all fall. There's still one left way up on top. Here, use the binoculars." Gardening? You think maybe I could be good at that? Hah! I once killed an artificial cactus by over- watering it. And my tomatoes were so hard that even the jack rabbits wouldn't eat them. Roses? Roses don't grow flowers they only grow thorns, right. Weeds? Now I can grow them! Is there any market for weeds? Maybe for weed (singular) but not weeds. You've probably guessed by now that I'm not exactly a "domestic goddess." My talents and aspira- tions lie elsewhere. Where? Um, far, far away. If, like the cat, I have nine lives, maybe I'll discover my niche someday and I won't have to pretend to be domesticated. I was meant to live in the era where they had housekeepers, cooks, upstairs and downstairs maids, and butlers. Crisis Response Network (CRN) announced that its statewide 2-1-1 Arizona Information and Referral Service program, which connects state residents to essential services in their local communities, fielded 208,455 calls from March 20 to Au- gust 31, 2020. Calls have come in from each of Arizona's 15 counties. The top five reasons for people calling 2-1-1 Arizona in August 2020 were for connections to potentially lifesaving services, including: 2-1-1 connects residents to essential services □ Housing and Shelter 33% □ Utility Assistance 22% □ Disaster Assistance 9% □ Emergency Food Assistance 7% □ Healthcare 5% Following a request from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, 2-1-1 Ari- zona launched the state's COVID- 19 Hotline with limited live-answer service beginning on March 20, 2020. Since that date, 2-1-1 Arizona has expanded to become the state's go-to resource for health and hu- man services, including general in- formation and referral service, evic- tion prevention, and the Resilient Arizona Crisis Counseling Program. With funding from the Arizona De- partment of Economic Security, 24/7/365 live-answer service with English and Spanish-speaking op- erators went live on July 1, 2020. Due to funding challenges, live- answer service was suspended for 2- 1-1 Arizona in July, 2019. Since then, CRN worked diligently to identify short-term funding partners to re- store live-answer operations. "Live-answer service provides a personal, compassionate, human connection that people deserve – es- pecially during the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic," said Justin Chase, President/CEO of Crisis Response Network. "It also allows us to better assist callers with any and all needs they may have." Since the resumption of live-an- swer service on March 20, 2020, the greatest community need iden- tified has been for rental assistance and eviction prevention. Many call- ers are unable to get access to rental assistance due to increased demand or there is insufficient rental assis- tance in particular areas. In addition to the phone line, 2-1-1 Arizona's various services also can be accessed through its website, www.211arizona.org and mobile app.

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