Teaching A Kid To Cook

     Page Ninety-Seven.
     Well, that was fast. Last week I mentioned that my job with the boys had ended for the summer. I wrote that I figured something would come along. It probably has and I start today.
     A long time acquaintance approached me about helping her with an interesting situation. Okay... follow me closely here.
     My acquaintance's name is Deb. Some years ago, she befriended a woman named Gretchen. Gretchen had some VERY serious issues with drugs and alcohol but when she was clean she was quite pleasant and charming. They gradually became close to the point that Deb saw Gretchen as the daughter she never had. (Deb is a single, former hippie.) Over the years Gretchen had three sons with, I think, the same man. Those sons today are 21, 19 and 15.
     Gretchen was never able to stay clean for very long, but she could occasionally stay sober for a year or two. She and her sons moved in with Deb five or six or seven years ago. Two years ago the father died of an overdose. Shortly thereafter, Gretchen started using again. At that point, Deb told Gretchen that she should sign her youngest over to her because Deb didn't want him to end up in the state foster system when the inevitable happened. Gretchen did sign over guardianship to Deb sometime in 2011 I think. Gretchen then died of an overdose one year ago, spring of 2012.
     Today, the oldest is a mess, in and out of jail; he has no interest in living a clean life. The middle is extremely responsible. He has a stable job at Bob Evans and is a strong student at Cleveland State University studying pre-law. He also lives next door to Deb. The youngest, Shem, lives with Deb and is as angry as you can imagine.
     Both Gretchen and the dad were Jewish and Judaism is huge on welfare. One of the local Orthodox Jewish day schools knows of the situation and is giving Shem free tuition until he graduates, $18,000 per year, even though nobody was Orthodox. That's just the way Jewish communities operate. This person talks to this person who talks to this person. Then organizations find out about conditions and before you know it, scholarships are established even though there may just be a peripheral association. (Deb is an office manager. She makes enough to support two but not enough to pay for private school.) Thankfully, Shem enjoys school very much.
     But, Shem takes much of his anger out on Deb, which is natural and Deb knows it. Of the many superficial, sticking points, is food. Of all the things this kid has to be angry about, food is absorbing much of his energy. (Of course, it's just an excuse to lash out.) Deb's never had to learn how to cook and she's vegetarian. So Shem carries on about how she's trying to starve him. Deb has spent a fortune on carry-out over the last year and Shem won't touch it. He keeps talking about learning to cook but he won't say what he wants to learn to cook. He challenges Deb to read his mind, basically. That's where I come in.
     At first I was contacted to see about delivering ready-made meals. Then the plan changed and now Deb is thinking that because I'm a stranger, then perhaps Shem will communicate with me and allow me to teach him how to cook. Deb admitted that she really should have taken care of this issue a year ago. But the fact is, she's been mourning the loss of her very dear friend, besides having to raise this deeply troubled boy. So, in one hour I'm supposed to go shopping with Deb and begin my little summer escapade.
     Wish me luck. The fact is, I really do have experience working with troubled youth, though I prefer normal, difficult, obnoxious teenagers with no real excuses to ones with actual problems. Of course, I'm walking into this with hopes that I can help. We'll see. At the very least, it'll keep him occupied a few hours per week.