David

David is the only other Asian in the soup kitchen. He is also the only one who is there every week. Part of this is because he lives in the adjacent housing complex, and in exchange for the new housing he is supposed to help out in the soup kitchen. Still, he says, most people don't really help out. I sense a twinge of resentment.

David's job is the dishes. He is proficient at what he does, to a frighteningly frantic degree. As he puts it, in addition to the jolly rancher kool-aid and coffee, he doesn't do anything else.

Whenever he needs to wheel the coffee cart out into living room area, he tells me to stand by the door until he comes back. Then he opens the door and scurries into the throng of homelessness and scurries back, making sure to shut the door quickly, always with a look of nervousness on his face.

New volunteers are always nervous around David. I was no exception. David tends to give the impression that he's bossing people around. I don't think this is the case. Some will just follow his directives and others will ask "what gives?" Shaun was one of the latter. He and David are not on talking terms. Shaun insinuates that David is afraid of black people. His suspicion may not be without warrant.

I tell David that my parents are moving to Cali.
"Oh yeah, where?"
"Laguna Niguel"
"Oh, I've heard of that..."

Turns out, David is from Cali.

"What's it like?"
"It sounds like one of those new developing, ritzy suburbs..."