Week #7- Rodney (and the rhubarb bars)

My go-to area for the Give and Bake Project is usually around State Street in the Loop.  This is good because it's usually easy to find someone around there, and also because it's a very safe and lively area.  It's bad because it's also home to many of my favorite stores, and I am easily distracted.  So I was a bit glad when I saw a man shakin' his money-maker (well, shaking his cup) outside of Walgreen's right across the street from my work, a safe distance away from shiny new shoes and flouncy new sundresses.  Just as I was about to approach him, I saw another man about 10 feet away almost eyeing this first gentleman up.  Curious as I was to learn about the dynamics of change-collecting turf, I would have felt bad for not having two plates and forks, so I thought it best to look for someone else.  And good thing I did.

I walked one more block and saw a man outside of Starbucks- the same man I had seen when I walked by at lunch six hours earlier.  It has been a cold and drizzly day, and I noticed at lunchtime that this fella did not have an umbrella (although he said he found one lying on the sidewalk after the rain stopped), so he had certainly earned some goodies.  Normally I begin my conversations by walking up to the person and saying "Do you like (whatever I have baked)?" but as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew how this conversation was going to go.  And sure enough, his reply was "what is rhubarb?"  Rhubarb is a pretty hard thing to describe, and I knew showing the bars to him wouldn't help.  As anyone who bakes with rhubarb knows, it's a very tasty feature but doesn't exactly look appetizing.  So I handed him the plate and tried to piece together a description, but luckily while I was talking he tore back the tinfoil, grabbed a big fork full, and exclaimed "This is GOOD!"  I knew I was going to like Rodney.

Rodney has been homeless for about seven months.  He was working for a construction company, but the project folded and he hasn't been able to find a new one.  He explained that winter is a very tough time to find jobs, and that he's been applying to anything and everything but an opportunity just hasn't lined up for him quite yet.  He is very hopeful that things will pick up in the summertime, because of both the weather and the tourism.  Luckily, Rodney has some great friends who let him crash on their couches.  He lives very far on the south side, but he likes to hang outside of Starbucks on Michigan and Lake most days as he has had pretty good luck there with collecting change and sometimes a little something to eat.

While I was chatting with Rodney, an onlooker came up and wondered what I was doing.  I explained that I was just bringing Rodney some bars I had baked.  This man said to Rodney "when a woman bakes for you, you need to buy her a cup of coffee!" and proceeded to give Rodney $5 to go inside of Starbucks and buy me something.  I politely but adamantly declined- although a sweet gesture, I'm sure Rodney can use $5 much more than me and my already-too-high energy level need a cup of caffeine.  But when I started chatting with this onlooker and explaining a bit about my blog, Rodney seemed glad for the distraction.  He flew back to the rhubarb and said "I can't stop eating this!"  Then he ran past us with the plate saying "I need to have my friend try some of this."  When he came back out I asked him who his friend was.  He pointed to a man sitting inside drinking coffee and reading a book- apparently he frequents the Starbucks (and Rodney) quite often.  Rodney says that he sees many of the same people each day and makes a lot of friends that way.

Rodney's friendliness and energy sure made my day, and I hope that my treats really did make his day a little bit brighter too.  I love his optimism and confidence that he will find a job soon, and his willingness to get into the trenches with any opportunity he is able to find.  Hopefully one day soon I'll walk downtown to find Rodney hanging out inside one of these little shops with the friends he's made, and not just having to hope for loose change outside of one.




Rhubarb Bars
- 2 1/2 c flour
- 2/3 c powdered sugar
- 1 c butter, softened
- 1 3/4 c sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 5 c chopped rhubarb

Mix together butter, powdered sugar, and 2 cups of the flour until it becomes dough-like.  Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan (you don't have to spray the bottom of the pan, but do spray the sides).  Bake for 10 minutes on 350 degrees.  In the meantime, whisk together sugar, salt, remaining flour, and eggs until very well blended.  Stir in rhubarb. When the crust is done baking, spread this mixture over it, and bake another 40 minutes or until edges look a bit brown.  Cool completely before cutting- these end up being a bit runny so it helps to refrigerate them.  They aren't the prettiest dessert, so if presentation is your game, you may want to add a dollop of vanilla ice cream.