Home repair is a petty worry

For as log as I’ve known Cay, Christmas has always been celebrated

at the home of her sister, Nancy. Earlier this month, however, Cay

and I thought that this year the local relatives, including the West

family from San Diego, might celebrate Christmas in our new home.

That possibility arose around the time we started some

construction inside and outside our new home.

At the same time that we decided to rip out our old fireplace and

give it a more modern look, Nancy and her husband Lewis began their

major kitchen remodeling, and it seemed as though we’d be ready

before them.

But as of today, our back yard is unusable, made so by a massive

pile of dirt stretching the 70 feet across our property. On top of

the dirt, and sometimes underneath it, is the old termite-infested

wooden fence that was torn down to make way for our new cinder block

wall.

Inside the house, our new fireplace makes the old paint job look

dull and dreary. That means painting, something I cannot tolerate,

but will suffer through to make the room look good. Always, it seems,

these projects take twice as long and cost twice as much.

For a while, I was complaining about the costs and the delays. And

for a while, I was complaining about working too much and not having

enough time to watch a video at night with Cay.

Then I had one of those “Aha!” moments that made me realize:

1. We purchased a new house in the middle of what is supposed to

be a recession.

2. We had the money to do some extensive upgrades.

3. Working too much meant I had a job.

That moment was followed by the realization that there are

millions of people who would trade just about anything to be in my

shoes -- or your shoes, too, probably. In the final analysis, my

complaints were really just whines.

Some of those people who would trade places with me will find

themselves spending Christmas living at the Orange Coast Interfaith

Shelter in Costa Mesa. They will be picking up clothes at Share Our

Selves and getting a hot meal at Someone Cares, which are also in

Costa Mesa.

Next year, Orange County will receive nearly $10 million in

funding for local homeless programs -- the largest such allotment in

county history. But not a dime is scheduled to be spent at any of

these worthy organizations.

This funding comes at a time when the number of verified homeless

people in the county has reached a record 23,132 people. That is

double the figure from 1998. More than half of those persons are in

families with children.

To accommodate these people, there are only 2,887 shelter beds

available.

If the number of homeless families did not make you think twice

about your image of the typical homeless person, it should have. Your

idea that a homeless person is wandering the streets pushing a

supermarket shopping cart babbling out loud is good for headlines and

TV shows, but not for solving problems.

Sadly, the homeless figure includes too many children. And while

you can rant and rave about how these children should never have been

born to families who cannot properly care for them, they cannot eat

your words for dinner or sleep under them at night to protect them

from the cold and rain.

The homeless families want desperately to have a life. Many of

them are single-parent families, headed by mothers who are the

victims of beatings by cowards who do not deserve the title of

husband or father.

Others have lost what little they have to medical bills because

they are some of the tens of millions in this country who do not have

medical insurance.

At the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, families are housed,

clothed and fed for 90 days. Adults get job training if needed and

great attempts are made to create as normal a life as possible for

the children who pass through.

Coast Interfaith Shelter is $110,000 away from owning the building

that has meant so much to so many.

I don’t expect you to empty your 401(k) to help pay for the

mortgage. But I would like to think about the kind of year you have

had compared to the people who are rescued by the shelter.

If, like me, you find that your health and the health of your

family is excellent, that you have a job, a decent place to live and

food on the table, I ask only that you help those who are temporarily

having trouble helping themselves, particularly as Christmas

approaches.

To make a donation to the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, please

call (949) 631-7213.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(949) 642-6086.