Gift of listening * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 7 No. 48 Dec. 1, 2006

ANOTHER YEAR
ALMOST OVER

So suddenly it is December. The old year is ending and a new one is waiting
just around the corner. It seems like just yesterday that the trees
and lawns were green outside the windows of Bill's Coffeeshop. But now
the leaves are gone from the trees and the lawns are sleeping until
spring.

December is the month of the Little Spirit Moon (manidoo-giizisoons)
on our Ojibwe calendar. It is between the "Ice is forming" moon of
November and the "Great Spirit" moon of January.

REMEMBER THE HUNGRY,
HOMELESS AMONG US
As you head home to your family and friends, please keep in mind the
individuals and families among us who are hungry and homeless this
holiday season. They are in each of our communities, from Sioux City
to Iowa City, from Decorah to Des Moines, and from Minneapolis to
Sioux Falls. If you take a walk around any of these communities early
in the morning, you're likely to see people who have no home trying to
keep warm in stairways and parking ramps.

Groups like the Salvation Army and Catholic Worker have been providing
food and shelter for individuals without a place to live for many
years. Consider making a gift to these community agencies (or others
doing similar work) this holiday season.

Remember, too, to make regular donations to a local food shelf or
homeless shelter.

CONSIDER A GIFT OF
LISTENING, TOO

Nourishment comes not only from food. It also comes from being
recognized, acknowledged and listened to. Bill Sackter had a gift for
this. In the coffeeshop and on the bus, he listened to all who wanted to
be heard. His example is something we can learn from in our own lives.

There are so many opportunities for us to listen. They often come when we
least expect or when we do not feel "ready."

Anna taught me that. She first called me when I was working as a
newspaper reporter. It was the second day of Hanukkah and she was
terribly depressed. She missed her family and friends and wasn't able
to get to the synagogue anymore.

Why did she call me? Her reply: I get your paper and thought you might
listen. It wasn't exactly an opportune moment (my deadline was two hours
away) and frankly I didn't know what to say.

But she didn't want me to talk, she wanted me to listen. So I listened.
After an hour or so, she said thank you, Happy Hanukkah, and goodbye.

The next year she called again during Hanukkah. You listened to me
last year, she said, so I figured you probably would again.

These calls became a Hanukkah tradition. After several years, she told me
that she had been so depressed the first year that she'd been considering
turning on the gas and killing herself. "But I didn't because you
listened," she said.

Anna died a natural death more than a dozen years after her first call.
But her lesson about listening has stayed with me. I suppose our opportunities
to listen aren't usually so dramatic. But one never knows.

     -- Tom Gilsenan

WOULDN'T BE COMPLETE
WITHOUT THOSE SONGS

Each year around Thanksgiving, Bill's Newsletter gets requests for
copies of the Turkey Carols which have been printed here. The . Our
favorite request this year came by email about 10 pm on the night
before the holiday:

I have been hunting for a copy of the Turkey Carols for quite some
time now. I misplaced my only copy during a move, and really miss
embarrassing my family with them each year. Is there some place where
I can get a copy?

Linda Dickhous
Portland, Oregon

________________________________________

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at
the University of Minnesota. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa
City for more than 30 years. Tony Grego, a graduate student in social
work, is the current coffeeshop manager. For more information, call
the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a weekly publication distributed by email.
It is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of the coffeeshop.
Opinions expressed in the Newsletter are those of the writers and
should not be construed as representing the School of Social Work or
the University of Iowa. A file of back issues is online at the
coffeeshop website: www.uiowa.edu/~socialwk/bills .