I had intended this week to write a scathing column on the ban on the phrase “Ho Ho Ho” that an Australian mall (and, I’ve heard but have been unable to confirm, one in Eugene) has put on its Santa Claus performers because it could be considered demeaning by customers.
That, of course, could have launched me into a whole array of PC-related stupidity that would only have left us all with a sour taste in our mouths for the holidays.
Then I went to the Sunshine Industries Winter Formal on Saturday night.
When I first heard about the formal, I was intrigued. In case you’re not familiar with Sunshine, it provides employment and services for developmentally disabled folks here in the Sweet Home area. A Sunshine janitorial crew cleans our office here at The New Era every couple of weeks and we enjoy having them here.
Most take their work very seriously and they do a good job. Plus, many of them are very cheerful. More cheerful, I might say, then many of the rest of us.
Sunshine celebrated its 30th anniversary as an incoporated organization earlier this year, but it’s been around a few years longer than that, Executive Director John Strickler told me. It’s actually the seventh-largest employer in Sweet Home, if you count the clients who take home paychecks for the work they do. In addition to the 60-some clients, the organization has 15 staff members.
The organization provides vocational training that includes woodworking and creating wood products in addition to janitorial and yardwork enterprises. Last year they got into the contact shredding business, with the purchase of two high-capacity, cross-cut shredders for use by clients who are too disabled to do janitorial or yard work, or to work in the organization’s woodshop.
Strickler said Sunshine has held a Start-of-the-Summer Dance for several years at Hawthorne School’s outdoor covered play area each June. But he said the formal was different.
I wanted to see what and so did my wife, who said if she hadn’t been so swamped with school programs and other end-of-the-year events jammed into last week, she would have gone.
I got to the Community Center, where the formal was held, about 45 minutes into the two-hour event. When I walked in, Travail, the first of two live musical acts, both fronted by Sunshine staffers, was winding up its performance. Out on the dance floor, between the stage and tables loaded with cups of punch and plates of cookies and other finger foods, were a couple of dozen people. They looked like they were having a wonderful time.
Strickler jumped up on the stage as the set ended and led the crowd in rousing applause for Travail’s performance. Then he had somebody stick in some recorded music to keep things hopping while the second act, Deanna Hampton and Bob Hutchinson, got set up on stage.
Freddie Johnson, who works on the janitorial crew and who has helped us out in other ways at The New Era,” came up to greet me.
“You enjoying yourself, Freddie?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said. Freddie’s a man of few words. I suggested he get out there and join the fun, but he seemed content just to lean against the wall and watch the others.
Out on the dance floor, folks who had partners were swaying to the music, a mix of country, pop tunes and a few holiday favorites. Others swayed in time to the music and waved their arms. Some, who lacked the ability or inclination to dance, stood on the sidelines or out on the dance floor and just enjoyed themselves. Sunshine staffers and some family members made occasional forays onto the floor to dance as well.
When Hutchinson and Hampton cut into “The Little Drummer Boy,” everybody sang the “rum-tum-tum-tum” part vigorously. Then they sang “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” with more enthusiastic audience participation, dancing all the while.
Soon after, the dance floor effectively cleared when it was announced that it was picture time. Strickler had a camera set up in an adjoining hallway, with a festive background, and the celebrants lined up en masse to get their portraits taken, many with dates.
But as soon as the shutter clicked, they headed back to the dance floor or back to the tables for a snack. Some of these people just didn’t run out of gas.
They were having a really good time and it was really fun to watch them. We’ve all been to parties or wedding receptions or dances that had everything this one had – and more. What made this special was that nearly all these folks really appreciated everything – and I mean everything – that they experienced on Saturday night.
Life’s tough and a lot of us feel it. Work demands, family responsibilities and problems, social obligations, money troubles – they all take their toll. It’s easy to walk around with a chip on our shoulders, even during the holiday season when there’s less excuse than normal to be crabby.
These folks didn’t have chips on their shoulders. They took everything that was offered them – volunteer bands, punch, cookies – and they loved every minute of it.
Unfortunately, because of the demands of the newspaper life, we can’t always stay long when we’re covering an event. In this case, I was particularly sorry I had to leave.