The hunt was on, "Where was Mark?"; at the men's house, the hiring hall, the bus station, Ben Taub Hospital, or sitting behind that huge pile of unanswered mail and bills.

Finally, he showed up, but it was too late; the party that wanted to see him was gone. A young man wanted to leave something for him-was it a big donation or something? The purpose of the visit was unclear.

No, what he really wanted to leave was a big abrazo (hug). Mark had purchased a new artificial arm for him and he wanted Mark to receive the first hug with that arm. He gave the hug to one of the other Catholic Workers, Stephanie Rozak, to relay to him.

A hug was also due to Dr. Pat McColloster, who arranged to get the arm for half price.

Embracing Big G Plumbing

Recently, Mark wanted to give a hug to Gerald Eastwood of Big G Plumbing. Sue David, a Catholic Worker who lives in one of the apartment complexes for battered women, called to say that Entex (Reliant) had shut off the gas and removed the meters because of gas leaks. This meant no heat, no cooking, and no hot water for the families within. We felt we had to act quickly because of the women and children living in the apartments

Sue called the major plumbing company who handles emergencies and is highly advertised with trucks all over the city. They came within several hours, checked out the problem and said that they could fix it-for $18,000.

After we got up from the ground we decided to hold off for awhile, children or no children. So we called a plumber in our neighborhood with the same phone prefix we have-someone close by. Gerald said he would come in the afternoon, which he did. After checking out another water problem-hot water was bubbling up in the yard of another house-we went to the apartments without gas. He checked things out and said he would give us a price in the morning-and added that he would work with the city and the gas company in terms of permits and installing a meter. The city and Reliant-Entex are very strict.

He called the next morning to say that he could repair the leaking pipes and get approval from the city and the gas company for $1,800.

We made him repeat it several times to make sure it wasn't $18,000. He repaired the pipes and arranged approval. That was a $16,200 hug!

M.L.Z., L.Y.Z.

Houston Catholic Worker, Vol. XXI, No. 3, May-June 2001.