Ki'avedaypogamplease? A tribute to a friend

The first time I sat at the reception desk at L'Arche (the office administrator was at home with a cold), I received a call that made it very clear I was in for an interesting time. The conversation went like this:

"Good morning, L'Arche Edmonton, Maria speaking."
"Maria? Whoyou? Wheh's Cahmel?"
"Carmel? She's not feeling well today. I'm just filling in for her."
"Oh. Ki'avedaypogamplease?"
"Pardon me?"
"Ki'avedaypogamplease."
"Uhh, could you please repeat that?"
"DAY PO GAM PLEASE."
"Ohhh, Day Program, sorry! Of course, let me transfer your call."

After my initial difficulty in understanding the woman at the end of the line, I understood her a little better each time she called, though there were times I would have to ask her to repeat herself more than once, much to our chagrin. Eventually, though, she started calling just to chat, and I was able to catch enough words to make conversation about her planned activities for that day -- grocery shopping or housecleaning or visiting a friend. She would talk until she ran out of things to tell me, then ask to speak to someone else. I quite enjoyed hearing from her, and she usually phoned several times a day.

It wasn't until August that I made the connection between the voice and the person who owned it. A vigorous grey-haired lady of distinctive speech met me at the door of the Day Program room, newspaper in hand, and announced that she had been at the Special Olympics in London, Ontario. She proudly showed me a wonderful London Free Press article about how she was the oldest Special Olympian there, and told me all about her coach and bowling and how much fun she'd had -- and about seeing Don Cherry in real life. Finally I knew who Janice was, right down to the gleam in her eye.

Sadly, our L'Arche community lost our very good friend Janice to a heart attack this past weekend. Things just won't be the same without her presence at Day Program and various activities and celebrations. Already she is missed. I filled in at reception again today, and the phone doesn't ring like it used to...

The next time the angels bowl during one of our prairie thunderstorms, I will be thinking of Janice. God bless her, and may she rest in peace.

Here's a link to the London Free Press article on our special Special Olympian:

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/07/15/14719021.html