Introducing cafe heroes
Meet Catrina and Ron, a couple of the amazing people who work in the cafe LUNCHROOM LAUGHTER: Cafe staff members Ron and Catrina laugh in the cafeteria. Ron and Catrina aim to bring joy to students each day. PHOTO BY ESSY INGRAM
Essy Ingram Staff Reporter
A typical day at school will consist of courses, friends, teachers, coaches, and extracurriculars. It is jammed-packed so full that it is easy to forget that there are people who wake up early to serve around 1900 students breakfast and lunch with a smile. Catrina Shipley and Ron Daleo are a few of these resilient staffers. Follow them in a dialogue concerning questions and their answers. Q: What’s your favorite dance move? Catrina: “Oh, my God! I’m like, so not with the times, I don’t know!” Essy: “It doesn’t have to be with the times, just whatever you enjoy doing.” Catrina: “Honestly, I probably like Latin dance, ‘cause I listen to, like, a lot of Latin music like when I’m cooking and cleaning at home.” Essy: “Is there a certain move that you can do?” Catrina: “Not really, like I don’t know, I guess kind of like salsa, but you have to have a partner to do salsa, so I don’t get to pull that off unless my husband’s home.” Ron: “I would have to say… I’ll say the moonwalk.” Q: If you had an extra hour in the day, what would you do with it? Ron: “Sleep.” Catrina: “Yeah, probably [sleep], I get up at 4 every morning, so.” Ron: “So do I. I got up at ten to four this morning. Or I’d take my dogs on a longer walk.” Catrina: “Yeah, that’s what I was gonna say!” Ron: “She’s just trying to be like me.”
14 Page by Essy Ingram
Q: What’s your biggest fear? Ron: “My wife learning to say ‘no’... Right now she just says ‘yes’ all the time, but when she learns the word ‘no’, then it’s gonna be scary.” Catrina: “Mine would be losing my memory, yeah.” Ron: “Oh, I forgot that one.” Essy: ”Now you’re trying to be like her.” Ron: “Oh, geez, I’ll keep mine. I don’t have any fears.” Q: What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Ron: “Butter pecan.” Catrina: “Rocky Road.” Ron, in a Sloth voice: “Rocky road!” Ron: “What was that movie?” After a round of laughter, it was confirmed Catrina didn’t know what Ron was referring to. Ron: “Goonies? You didn’t see ‘The Goonies?’ Aww.” Catrina: “Really it’s Haagen Daas Vanilla Swiss Almond, but you don’t find that at, like, ice cream places.” Q: Favorite thing to read about? Ron: “I don’t read. I don’t got the time.” Catrina: “I like to read like happy success stories about kids with autism ‘cause my granddaughter, she’s four, she has autism. So you know, I’m trying to look ahead to her future just to see, like, how--” Ron: “You’re really trying to make me look bad aren’t you?” Catrina, giggling: “--how even though [kids with autism] face challenges, they can overcome them and be successful. So I love reading stories like that.
FEATURE
Essy: “That’s awesome. Is she the oldest grandchild you have?” Catrina: “She’s the only grandchild that I have.” Essy: “Oh, okay. You didn’t look old enough to be a grandma.” Catrina: “Oh, yeah. I’m really old.” Ron: “Are you kidding me?” Essy: “Yeah, you look like you’re in your thirties or something like that.” Ron, guffawing: “Oh, my God! In the thirties? Maybe she was born in the thirties.” Catrina: “You see what I have to work with? Everyday, everyday!” Q: If you could pick one movie to watch for the rest of your life, what would it be? Ron: “‘Hacksaw Ridge’. Do you know what that is? That was a good movie. I could watch that one over and over.” Catrina: “‘A League of Their Own’. That one’s like my all-time favorite movie. Ron and Catrina, in unison: “There’s no cryin’ in baseball!” Q: What’s your favorite part of working here at FHC? Ron: “Catrina.” Catrina: “Yeah ‘cause I bake his bread. He’s like ‘I need that bread.’” Ron: “Actually, [I like] socializing with the kids at my stand out there.” Catrina:”My favorite part about working is, um, yeah, I’ve made some new friends, and my coworkers. Ron: “She can’t mention my name, she’s married.” Catrina, laughing: “So making new friends.”
