The Clarkl Soup Kitchens by Mary Carmen Read Free Book Online Page B

compartment. This lack of order has not decreased the use of the automat in any way. It is still very popular, and the robots work continually to refill it. Our drivers who take the food from the kitchen work nonstop, too.
    The Drones remain our best customers. They are very friendly, but they are the first to complain if service is not up to their expectations. If pancakes are served without pineapple sauce, we hear the squeals when they point to the serving dish where that sauce usually is kept. If a dish that usually has pecans as a garnish is served without the pecans, it becomes the uproar of the day. It reminds me of my troubles when the twins were young, multiplied by the hundreds of complainers.
    My health has remained good for all the years here, but our manager is now having problems with “nerves.” The American doctor who has a clinic at the hotel in town, only fifty miles away, has given her some pills and has told her to work fewer hours. She has been taking the pills but she seems to be in the kitchen from sunup until late into the evening, as before.
    My own work is somewhat lighter now. I have several good assistants, and the robots continue to clean the dining room beautifully every night.

Richard Crosslyn’s Journal
    I promised my mother I would keep a journal while I am here on Clarkl, and I’ll do my best.
    February 27, 2144 – we landed near the capitol of Gilsumo, on a high hill. The spacecraft was filled with people and cargo, and I was so relieved to get off and stand on terra firma . I waived my arms and jumped a few times to stretch. 
    You would not believe the number of people on that craft! The Fundamentalists had all of us in little cabins, two or three crammed in together. On the upper decks were larger cabins, and they were filled, too. There was no cabin available during the seven months of the trip, even though I offered the Purser $20,000 to upgrade.
    The center of the craft was filled with cargo, mostly food. All this food was going from America to Clarkl for the grocery stores and the charity dining halls, such as the one we are running.
    The rich people on the top deck got off first, and then each lower deck in its turn. Finally we reached our deck, and I was able to see the Clarklians starting to unload the food, most of it in large bags. I saw flour, sugar, dried milk, and nuts. I also saw about two hundred citrus trees, each in a large can, wheeled down the gangplank.
    We went directly to the compound in a very strange conveyance, a vehicle that resembled a bus but without a top. Waiting there was the Reverend Walters, just as he had said he would be. He threw his arms around me and told me he had been looking forward to my arrival.
    About thirty other people were greeted in this way. We formed a party and walked all over the grounds. The Reverend Walters pointed out the cabins, the showers, the commissary cabin, the large kitchen and dining building, and the sanctuary.
    How primitive it all is! My own cabin is very austere, with no carpet and only a rag for a curtain. I have a very narrow bed, a card table with two folding chairs, three lamps, and an enclosed half bath. There are plenty of blankets on the bed, but the place is always cold.
    That evening, after a very poor dinner of vegetables and pie, the Reverend Walters conducted a service of thanksgiving in the sanctuary. He prayed for the souls of the heathens on Clarkl, and he thanked God for the good friends who had arrived to help with his mission.
    Then, he called the newcomers to come forward to the chancel for a special blessing. He spoke to God about each person and, when he came to me, he asked God to guide me to find my life’s work and a fruitful purpose for my existence.
    That night, I had a great deal of trouble getting to sleep. The room was very cold, and I was not used to sleeping with my face under the electric blanket.
    February 28, 2144 – I have a week of rest after the journey. I went to the dining room