Abundant Life Ministries Church has a health fair

Health fairs are the coming thing in this area. Some are big, like the one sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner at Davis Park, San Pablo. This one was small, at a small church on Ninth street, near Roosevelt Avenue in Richmond's Iron Triangle.  In fact, it was so small and relaxing that it was very healthful blessing for all the participants, who are usually too busy to talk to each other.  Andrew Butt had invited me to have an art table for kids at the very large, successful picnic to benefit Washington School, but I had already promised Eve Howard, early in the summer, that I would paint faces at her health fair.  My art professor at San Francisco State who gave me an M.A. in art education, told me in no uncertain terms, that I had to keep my promises to show up and do things for people.

Now I cannot find my notes for this story, with the names of all the participants whose photo I took.  I promised to put them on my blog.  I am usually not this disorganized.  I will put the names up when I find my notes.

C

Community gardening is important to the local 

people.  All the plants on this table are edible.

Most were picked that morning.

Aren't they beautiful?   The flowers are edible too.

It's so embarassing to not remember

people's names.  I really do apologize.

Eve will tell me names when I talk to

her tomorrow.

Malik Seneferu does art outreach

for at-risk youth.  His wife is a 

school teacher.  He is often at Point

Richmond events.

These passion flowers are edible.

at left is Naomi Williams with her co-workers who 

watchdog bars and liquor stores to stop

proliferation of liquor-selling establishments in

the local area.

These ladies volunteer to help  breast cancer 

patients.  They have a support group at Doctor's

Hospital, I think.

These people have a new kind of counseling

service called co-counseling.  You talk and they

listen.  Then they talk and you listen.  So it's

a two-way street.

I talked and then was interrupted by the announcer

telling us that the musical performance was

about to begin, so they didn't get to talk

after all.  Maybe we'll continue the conversation

at some other event.  I do have the ability to

listen to people.

Naomi Williams speaking.  There was another

event a few blocks away so most of the neighbors

had gone there. They were a lot louder than us

and it sounded like a revival meeting to me, with the

minister shouting about how he had gotten

someone out of jail and they hadn't gone back to jail

again, ever, and they had lived happily ever after.  

That sounds hopeful and uplifting,

to me,  because I usually hear about how 

people are revolving door drunks, recidivists, 

and my dad's favorite word, incorrigible.  

But I was tired at the end of the day,

so I did not go to the revival meeting.  

I just went home.

Eve Howard with my butterfly

face painting.  Notice that I

did not paint right on her eyelids.

I guess the other is prettier, but I think

it is safer and healthier this way,

and it's still pretty.  Thanks for a 

nice relaxing health fair.