terrypurple73 | (no subject)

I've spent all day with Community members, but mostly all day with or doing things concerning William. Meghan and I made a cake (long story) in honor of him, and when we went next door to show it off, we ended up just hanging out. (And looking at AdBusters and the Ruckus Society online!) So a crowd of us made and ate dinner together, followed by a lot of time sitting on the Little House front porch. William had missed our Community retreat, so he had never shared his life story with us. He launched right in, and it mostly centered on his prison experience. (Who would have guessed?) He was really open about it, though, not just telling us the sound-bite stories, but explaining how the system is set up and how it functions. I told Meghan that I might have to knock on wood after saying this, but I think he really does enjoy our company. I think he genuinely had a good time tonight, and with William, he can be kind of hard to read about that sort of thing. When someone is so laid-back about all these relatively trivial things- like how many times he has to explain something, or if he has a chair to sit on on the porch- when he is so ambivalent, it isn't always apparent whether or not he is enjoying himself. But I do think he had a good evening sharing stories with all of us. Pat Chee and Jack Dudley were over for a while as well, which I think made William feel more comfortable coming over the the all-girls house of the Community. Also, tonight he learned that the reason we gave him two keys when he moved in was so that he could get into both houses. :)
I guess it always feels nice to be validated about the steps I take, especially by people who have taken bigger/different steps than I have. And I guess I feel like William takes me seriously, that he values and believes in my opinions and my actions. I just appreciate having him here, and I especially did tonight. I respect the guy a lot.