This afternoon, Patchwork Central will celebrate the life of Eugene Meyer.
Eugene was well known around Haynie’s Corner and had many favorite haunts in the area. Patchwork was one of them.
As one of our morning regulars chuckled, “Eugene was weird, but he was ok.”
At Patchwork, Eugene would always get a cup or two of lemonade. He’d chat with our kitchen volunteers. He’d chat with the main office staff. He’d chat with anyone sitting at a table in the main room. He’d chat with anyone who would listen.
As he talked, he’d repeat his favorite nuggets of wisdom, many of which had been passed down by his grandfather. “Don’t tear it up. It’s paid for!” “Common sense will get you a long way in life.” “You can’t get rid of Mondays.” “Do you even know any normal people?”
Around Patchwork, Eugene would dribble trails of lemonade across the floor, staying focused on the people around him and not the carpet. He belonged here as much as everyone else, and the place belonged to him as much as it belongs to everyone else.
Eugene once declared himself “The Fonz of Patchwork.”
Eugene also held Patchwork accountable. Sometimes that accountability was uncomfortable.
In the early days of the pandemic, Patchwork stayed closed to the public. Still, Eugene would stop by on many afternoons when he saw my car. He’d ring the doorbell to get my attention. When I came to the door, Eugene would ask me, “When is Patchwork going to be open?”
I would tell him, “Eugene, I don’t know when we’ll be open again!”
Eugene would look at me and say, “I need the socialization,” before asking accusingly, “Patchwork Central isn’t exhibiting antisocial behavior, is it?”
As another example, Eugene shoveled snow and mowed grass for his neighbors—but at Patchwork he never did it for free, no matter how much of our free lemonade he drank. To me, it was a reminder that everyone’s labor has value and that value should be recognized. Eugene knew he didn’t owe Patchwork free labor in exchange for what he received from us. What we give is given freely to everyone. Why should we expect Eugene to give back just because he had something of value to us?
And Eugene, like everyone, was a complex person. He was not a saint spouting platitudes, and he routinely reminded me of that.
Once while standing in the main office, Eugene said, “What I like about this place is that we all love each other.”
Feeling his heart warmed, John responded, “Yeah, we all care about each other.”
Eugene responded, “Yeah, we’re not like Obama or Biden. We take care of our own chickens.”
What he meant by that, I do not know. So I’ll focus on what I can understand.