A Falling Truck and a New Start for YOU

I took my family on a vacation to Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. What a beautiful sight, compared to the flat corn fields of Indiana, as we traveled up one mountain and down the next. It was exciting to wind along the mountainside with the mountain dropping off on one side in a steep drop and then climbing straight up on the other side. As we wound our way through the slow moving traffic up one particular mountain road, we were talking about the beauty of the mountains with our kids, Suddenly, up in front of us the semi truck and trailer that we were two car lengths behind began to careen to the left and then to the right and then back again!

We watched in horror and helplessness as we saw the driver trying to regain control of tens of thousands of pounds of out of control machine! As he rounded one turn and then the next, the back of the trailer began to tilt wildly to the side. In just seconds our quiet drive through the mountains went from serene to surreal as we saw the trailer (in what seemed like super slow motion) tilt too far past center and then fall over on its side into the side of the mountain. As the trailer tipped it puller the massive semi truck over with it until both were sliding along the side of the mountain on their side.

We obviously stopped right away. My son and I got out and rushed up to see if we could help while the rest of the family immediately began to pray in the van. The driver was fine albeit, very shaken up, and we were soon back on the road realizing that you never know what may be around the next bend of life. Are you ready? Do you know where you would turn?

Jesus Christ loves you and gave His life for you to spend the rest of eternity with Him in heaven. He paid a penalty that only He could pay (since He lived a perfect life) and if you decide to start a relationship with him by putting all of your trust in Him rather than the things around you, you can be assured of living in heaven with Him someday.

This new relationship with Jesus can change your life. Speak to Jesus (just like you would a friend) and ask Him to start a work in your life today and to begin something new that will transform you and give you joy and hope beyond all imagination. Questions? Visit www.ogbc.net or email me at ogbc@ogbc.net. I hope to hear from you so that you can begin the next steps of this new relationship with Christ.

Here at the Osceola Grace Brethren Church you can find Real People living Real Lives and striving to find Real Answers.

Caught in a Lie

As a young boy my mom used to take my older sister and I grocery shopping with her since we were a little young to be staying home alone. Not to mention that she couldn't trust my sister (just kidding Chris). But we really couldn't stand following mom around Wilts Grocery Store for what seemed like forever. My mom finally agreed to let us go to the variety store across the parking lot to hang out in the toy section until she came to find us. That was great for the first few times but, as usual, we got bored with the same old stuff at the variety store so we asked for something bigger and better. "Hey, mom," we asked, "Can we cross Jackson Boulevard and see the toy section at Clark's?" Well of course the Clark Store was much bigger and had so much more to offer than the variety store; they had bikes and wagons and all kinds of good stuff!

Not surprising, the answer came back "No, it is too dangerous for you to cross Jackson alone. Just go to G.L. Perry's or stay with me."

We thought that we were pretty smart though. We walked over to Perry's and then when my mom was safely in the grocery store, we ran across Jackson Boulevard and visited Clark's for a while and then came back to Perry's before mom picked us up. Pretty slick, huh? Or so we thought.

On the way home mom asked about Perry's and then asked if we stayed there like we said we would. Hmmm. That should have clued us in but we assured her that we had and so then she dropped the hammer on us by telling us that our neighbor had been in Clark's earlier and then proceeded to the grocery store. When she saw mom in the grocery store she mentioned to her that she had seen us at Clark's. As if we weren't in enough trouble, we even tried to tell her that the neighbor must have seen someone who looked like us.

Needless to say, we spent the next several trips following mom around the grocery store. What did I learn?

1. Obey your mom; she always finds out anyway
   
2. Stick with the truth; it is hard to mess it up and…
   
3. Never let your sister talk you into something.
   

Here at the Osceola Grace you can find Real People living Real Lives and striving to find Real Answers.

Staying Warm and Drying Out

The final chapter of the Life on the Street series…

By 7 PM, I arrived at the church. I had no keys so I headed to the back of the property and began making my home for the night. I laid several branches down to rest upon while I made the fire since there was still a foot of snow on the ground. I soon had a fire going but had trouble keeping it burning (I started too small) and so I fought with it for an hour or two. I had one of the deacons concerned to the point where he texted me to say that there were hay bales near the church that I could use. I dragged one back to where I was (about a hundred and twenty yards or so) and then broke it up to make a makeshift bed. Once again I stoked the little fire and thought I would be ok. I put on a pair of my dry socks – when I left the mission that morning I only put on two pairs of socks and held back a pair just in case ( I am a pretty quick learner sometimes). So I was trying to dry things out and get to sleep and keep the fire going to stay warm. I was tucked under half a bale of hay while my boots were drying over the coals. I dozed. Suddenly – a bright light and a poof and I was awake – OH NO…The fire liked the flavor of my boots because it was suddenly licking major flames all around them – a foot and a half high!

What to do – without thinking I reached into the fire and grabbed my boots and tossed them aside – the smell of burning leather and rubber was awesome! They were not completely ruined but now I was awake again! And cold… Soon the fire died down and returned to its passive state and I was freezing and frustrated. A couple of options were before me: One: get up and call my wife and go home to a warm house, shower, food and a bed. Two: Get with it and make the biggest fire you can think of and drag that other bale of hay back here. It's 11:30 PM. I have to preach tomorrow. Dog gone it – this is crazy…

I marched back to where I left the other bale and then to the church dumpster – second time today that I went dumpster diving – I found another newspaper and a couple of little lightweight cardboard boxes that should burn ok. I stuffed the papers in the boxes and the boxes in my jacket and trudged back to the coals with my bale of hay. I then built a small semi-circular shelter with the pieces of the bale and laid a couple of branches over the top. I was shivering because I was so cold at this point and my feet were terribly sore and cold. I found several large logs and made a square "Lincoln log" type structure. I threw every last bit of wadded up paper and the little boxes in the middle of the log structure and stacked twigs over the paper. I then created a TeePee like structure of little branches that were about two to three feet long. If this did not create some real lasting fire then I was done.

I lit it with a couple of the matches I had left and within fifteen minutes had a four foot high roaring fire within a couple of feet of my little hay bale shelter. I then took off my coat and laid it over the top of the structure and crawled underneath. The fire sent heat right into my little shelter and within a few minutes I was toasty warm. After about a half hour, went and found much more wood to keep this thing going and by 1 AM I was stocked with wood and sleeping fitfully in my hay shelter. Every 90 to 120 minutes I awakened and reloaded the fire. My boots and pants and socks all dried as I slept.

At 11 AM the next morning – two apple pies later – I entered the church service, crawled out of a large appliance box on the stage and challenged our folks to "Cross the Line" into someone else's world to bring them to faith. Instead of just throwing a lifeline to them and expecting them to grasp it and pull themselves to safety – we should be willing to step over the line into their world and help them make it to the line of faith. What about you?

Have you ever been left out? Ignored? Have you ever left someone out because they were different than you? Or because they smelled? Or because they were not what you thought they should be?

Have you ever WITHHELD Jesus from someone? You can talk to your friends about school, jobs, families, sports, kids, vacations, colleges, dreams… but why is it so difficult to cross the social barrier of spirituality? I am not asking you to pick up everyone you see along the road or to spend life as a homeless person or to beg for food or dive in a dumpster – I am simply asking you, NO , I am begging you, to be willing to share with those around you about the Jesus that has transformed YOUR life…what could He do in your friend's life?

Stay tuned for more "Real Life, Real Stories and Real Answers" on this blog.

A Ride to the Dumpster

Part 8 of the Life on the Street series…

So I jump in the car and thank the man profusely for helping me out with a ride only to discover that I am STILL very prejudiced in my thinking. After all of this, I get in a car that I expect to be driven by someone like me or something else than what I got…Not that it was bad – It was not what I had in my mind for the person picking me up (if anyone ever did stop).

Sitting in the driver's seat was a guy with piercings, tattoos, a bandana and a Marlboro cigarette in his hand. There was a Corona emblem dangling from his rear view mirror and his driver's seat was set way back and in the "almost laying down" position and his hand was fashionably draped over the steering wheel of which he was looking through not over! I was astonished and thus I thanked him again for picking me up. His response spoke VOLUMES to my heart… "Hey man, I have been where you are right now and would have loved for someone to pick me up. I am just trying to help. Where you headed?" As we drove and talked for the next two miles, he said that he hates seeing people in a tough spot and if there is someone in a "safer" area of town he will always offer them a ride. WOW!

He dropped me at the corner where there was a restaurant and two gas stations. I asked at the restaurant for some old newspapers and they had none but I used the bathroom and dug a few paper towels out of the waste basket. It was 5PM by now and I was hungry again and wondering about staying warm. I walked to the gas station and received a reality check again – one more level down in my pride. As I asked for newspapers and explained my predicament I was told that they had none but I could dig in the dumpster if I wanted to – "There are some cardboard boxes in there that may help."

Right! I am going to dig in a dumpster. Hmmmm, I wonder what is in there… I guess I can always look to see what I can reach. The lid was up so I walked over and looked in. Cardboard boxes alright. Ha! I would have been able to fit a foot in one – that was how big they were – wouldn't that have been a sight! But WAIT! Just beyond my reach was a couple of brand new newspapers that were both about an inch thick that someone had just tossed in there. Aww crud…Well, here goes, I jumped up and rested my belly on the edge and dangled my feet out the back and leaned in to get these things. Finally I reached them and quickly landed back on my feet with the agility of a cat! OK maybe not – but I didn't fall on my behind! Highly embarrassed, I quickly headed off down the road with my newspapers (and my only hope for warmth) under my arm. Night was soon to fall and I was still three or four miles from my intended destination.

Where was I headed – the only place I knew to go where I could safely have a fire all night and attempt to stay warm – The church has an area where a bunch of our guys had cut a bunch of trees down and they had stacked all of the brush up in an enormous pile. I had an endless supply of wood to burn and it was out in the woods so I would be unseen (for the most part). So now I was walking with a mission.

Last one tomorrow – "Staying Warm and Drying Out"

Walking, Begging, Hitchhiking...

Part 7 of the Life on the Street series...

Sorry for the lull in chapters…I'm back.

After the visit at the high school where my daughter performed I had to find a place to head or a direction to go to find either a late breakfast or a lunch somewhere. I knew I still had just under $4 left so I thought I would head toward the mall. There was a talent show there that afternoon that one of my sons had registered for so I thought that I would go that direction. I set off walking, once again – the weather was ok but my feet and socks and boots were quickly drenched and cold. It was about two hours to get to the mall and I arrived just as the competition was getting underway. It was nice to sit down and to be warm again (even though I was wet). My son found me and was actually buying a 6" Subway sandwich and they had a buy one get one free sale. I thought – "surely, he will get me a sandwich." I waited. He texted his brother and asked if he wanted one – then decided that he would just eat it later. After a few moments of thought he offered it to me…"Hey, Dad, are you hungry?" YES! Thanks. I wolfed it down but it hardly touched the hunger at that point. It took the edge off.

I enjoyed the warmth for a couple of hours while I was watching the competition and then once it was over had to decide where to go and what to do. As of his point – I had really not outright asked anyone for help. I was wanting to see what people would initiate on their own from their own heart and found that it is just like me – look the other way or at least pretend you are not offended by the smelly guy and let it go at that. Well, it was time to swallow my pride and see how people reacted to an outright request (begging). I walked to the Taco Bell and waited until the counter cleared and then I told the cashier that I was on the streets for a couple of days and wondered if they had some sort of temporary work that I could do to earn a couple of tacos. He seemed sympathetic and so he went to ask his manager. He returned with a sad smile and said they could not help me BUT he then reached under the counter and handed me a cup and said "please get a drink before you go." He felt bad – I could tell. So, - I got a cup of water and then drank that and walked to the McDonalds down the street. There I asked the teenage cashier the same thing and he gave me to his supervisor. She said she was not sure what they could do but she would check with her manager. While she was gone the off shift supervisor was congratulating everyone on a record day! $10,000 between 7 AM and 3 PM! We have never done that before – great job – Rah Rah! I am thinking, well then, I should be able to get a free hamburger or something!

The supervisor came back and said they could not hire me to do anything today because of their hiring rules and procedures. "So sorry, sir. But my manager had this $4 and said she was going to trust you and give this to you to help you out."

I tried to refuse the money but she pushed it into my hand. I spent it right there and got two burgers and two apple pies ( I figured that I could eat cold apple pies later and that they would be better than a cold burger). I thanked them and then I walked.

I walked and began to try to hitchhike…no one…I arrived at a gas station and asked for newspapers (old, new whatever). No luck. So I kept walking. I was within two miles of my next begging point (SR 19 and CR 20) two Speedways and a restaurant, when a car stopped. I jumped and was surprised at my own prejudice even now!

Two more to wrap things up – "A Ride to the Dumpster", "Staying Warm and Drying Out" .

Some ‘Splaining to Do

Part 6 of the Life on the Street series...

By the time I arrived at the school – I had a couple of ideas in mind. It turns out that by the time that I had arrived there, Frank had reached my wife – he finally did pick up the phone after I left of course – and she "reluctantly" agreed to pick me up there at the mission and return me since she verified that I really did have a commitment to my daughter that day. The problem was – I had texted her to tell her that I was at the school already. She called on my 'almost dead again' phone and asked why I was not at the mission like the guy said. I told her that I would explain when she got there but that I had escaped. Not really but it freaked her out that I was not where they thought I was. When she arrived at the school, I explained everything to her and she immediately wanted to know where I was sleeping that night. At that point, I had to honestly tell her the options but that I was not sure yet. I agreed to keep her posted since it looked like I was going to wing it.

It turns out – I also had some more explaining to do to a new friend of the family. As I stood in the auditorium while my daughter warmed up, a new friend to our family (my daughter and their's hang together) came up to me and asked if I was home from my trip. My mind raced… "Trip? What trip? What is he talking about? How could he know this?" I answered that I was sort of still on a trip. He looked very concerned and so – still not knowing what he was talking about – I thought that since he does not go to our church yet that I could share what I was doing and it would be safe and sound.

I gave him the nutshell version and why and he sighed with relief. He shared how glad he was that I explained that to him. It turns out that on Friday night, my daughter had gone out with their family and he had asked where I was because he had emailed me and I had not replied yet. My daughter shared that I was on a trip and the natural next question was "where?" She did not know so that was what she said – as they conversed and it became obvious that she was hiding something he backed off but was concerned. From all he had experienced – these kinds of conversations had the signs of family trouble and he was trying to figure out what he had to offer to a pastor whose family was falling apart! When he saw me looking like I was on Saturday – his concern grew and he approached me to start a conversation to see what he could learn about the situation and how he could offer some sort of help.

When I explained the truth – he told me all of that and was so relieved. We laughed but it turned out that when he went home and shared that with his wife – they came to church on Sunday because they had to know "the rest of the story"!

Check the next blog – "Walking, Begging, Hitchhiking and Dumpster-Diving" see what the rest of Saturday held for me before I finally warmed up.

Runnin’ from Frank

Part 5 of the Life on the Street series

Decision time…I was afraid that if Frank showed no mercy that I was going to be there (and watched closely) for the next three days – I was scheduled to preach the next morning at church so I hoped he showed me some mercy here. After a bunch of bantering back and forth with me trying to be as meek and gentle (with a little begging) as I could, Frank said that even though the rules were three days with no free time and then on the fourth day "possibly" an HOUR of free time, that if he could verify with someone that I really was supposed to do this that he might make an exception.

I gave him Cari's name and the event and my daughter's name and where I was supposed to be and when. He then asked for a number and I mistakenly wrote down MY cell number. Within about five minutes he placed the call and I heard him leave a voice mail. That was unusual since Cari always has her phone on and especially with this happening – I knew that she wanted to be available anytime I may need her help. As I thought for a minute, I realized that I had given my number and not hers. I approached the desk and shared that with him and then was grilled over whether I had a cell phone or not and why I had not turned it in last night. I did not lie but told him that it was dead anyway (because it was) and he said it did not matter – turn it in to the other guy and he will lock it up for me until I leave after the end of the program. Uh OH!

He then said – he would call my wife and I should have a seat. I did not go right to the guy to turn my phone in… I waited a minute or two and then I sat down and watched. Frank was working on his computer and not making the phone call. Time was ticking away. I needed a decision or my walk to Central was going to cause me to be late to the performance. I waited a few more minutes – still no call. I knew that if I left without turning in my phone and without permission (and without breakfast) that I was not going to be able to just walk back in later and hope for a meal and a bed. Still more waiting as all of this played out in my head and finally – still no action from Frank – I slipped my hat on and my gloves and slowly zipped up my jacket. Decision time was upon me. I looked his way one more time and then slipped quietly out the front door and began my trek to Elkhart Central.
I knew that I could not return so I headed out trying to create plan B in my head as I walked – What was I going to tell Cari when I saw her at Central? I had some 'splaining to do and I needed to have a plan…Worst case – I would just give up. Best case – I would ask someone to stay with them if they would be willing to help a stranger out for the night. Something in the middle – I knew that if I could make it to the church that there was a huge brush pile. I did still have a bunch of matches and I could have a fire all night and sleep out under the stars…
Check the next blog – "Some 'splaining to do" to see how I was going to explain to my wife, Cari, that I really did not know where I was staying the night on Saturday!

A Night in the Mission

Part 4 of Life on the Street series

I went to the front desk to find out what it took to stay overnight. Question #1 – Have I ever been convicted of a sex offense? NO! Ok then – go to the police station and have them do a search for open warrants. So I walked to the police station – who of course – sees this all the time. I was a non- person to them. Driver's License…Name…Here's is your paper. Bye.

I walked the twenty minutes back to the shelter and went through an application process. I asked the guy if it was possible to leave the next morning to go over to the nearby high school to see my daughter perform in a vocal competition. He said he was not sure but that I should check with the morning person. He did not know why not so it looked and sounded good. The chapel service was starting so I went in and sat down. The guy in front of me said to his buddy…"What are they burning? Smells like they are burning something." Well, that was me so I identified myself as the campfire guy and the just sniffed and looked at me and went back to talking to each other. I sat through the chapel service and then the front desk guy told me to look up Chester to see if he could help me dry out.

When I found "Chet" – he was the most helpful man I could imagine - he had me wash my socks in the sink and wring them out and then, when he realized that I had no clean ones to put on, he went away for a couple of minutes and then returned with a mismatched pair of socks. He showed me how I could possibly dry my boots in the bathroom under the hand dryer and then disappeared. Every half hour or so, he made his way from the laundry area (in another building) to the dorm. He stopped and checked in with me each time and eventually brought me my dry socks. He also made a special trip back to the front desk to get my box of linens since I was never given any. He checked in with me before going to bed to make sure that I had a mattress and a place to call my own for the night. What a guy.

I met several others that night and the next day one of them, named Greg, invited me to sit with him for a couple of minutes in the reading area. This guy was a professing Christian, although his language and choices of music had not been renewed yet! (Led Zeppelin is not the most wholesome group to listen to as a believer) Anyway, he said that they had me on a chore chart already so I must be on a fast track to getting a permanent bed. "Why?" I asked and he did not know but that I had some chores right after breakfast. Red flags went off in my head because I had promised my daughter that, even though I was doing this project, I would be there at Elkhart Central that Saturday for her vocal competition.

I proceeded to the front desk before breakfast to see what I could work out. That is where I met Frank. As I soon discovered, the people from the night before at the front desk were residents of the mission's program and were volunteering. Frank, whom I was about to meet, was on staff. I explained my predicament to Frank – that I was told last night I could leave to go to this program and that I promised my daughter I would be there. He proceeded to tell me that when you using in to the mission you are there for THREE days with chore duty and NO FREE TIME! I had to get permission from a staff member or a member of senior management. I asked if there was someone available to in that capacity to speak with and he informed me that he was "senior management". Uh OH! Decision time…

Check the next blog – "Runnin' from Frank" to see what decisions I had to make in the next ten minutes.

A Fire Under the Bridge

Part THREE of Life on the Street series – Pastor Greg wanted to experience life as a homeless person so on February 1^st, 2008 he left home, walked to the mission and survived on the street for 3 days with the clothes on his back, $5 in his pocket along with some matches, gloves and a small hunting knife.

I found a break in the traffic and snuck down through the spot in the guard rail and bridge rail to a place under the bridge. It was only about ten feet from the river edge to the bridge end so I did not have much room to maneuver. I went to the end where the breeze blew toward me so that any smoke would travel under the bridge, out the other side and hopefully dissipate and not draw attention. Probably overkill but I have read too many novels and so I was being careful so as not to get in trouble. (my mind was full of the possibilities, mostly imagined, I am sure) I did not know for sure if it was legal but it seems like an open fire under a bridge in the city limits would be frowned upon. Especially when I looked like I did – I was worried I may end up safe and sound IN JAIL.

I gathered a number of rocks and made a two foot diameter fire ring – gotta be safe you know. I then gathered a bunch of wood from the dead tree that I saw on the way here. It was just out from under the bridge but below the roadway so I could not be seen very easily. I broke up the wood and whittled some shavings to get a fire started. I used my newspapers from the Martin's store trash receptacle and shortly had a small but warm fire going. I tried to make a comfy place among the rocks – not so easy but eventually found a way to sit on some of the wood pieces that were, as yet, unburned.

I removed my three pairs of socks and warmed my toes over the fire while trying to dry out my socks. They started steaming but never fully dried up. I realized after an hour of this that they may warm up but were not going to dry out at all. Good enough though. I sat there and warmed up while the time passed. As I ran short of wood supply, I had to get more wood or leave. I realized that it was close to dinner time at the mission so I suited up and put out the fire and headed up the bank. The walk to the mission was only 30 minutes or so and I arrived shortly after the doors opened.

Dinner was salad, spaghetti, bread and green beans. I ate until I could not eat any more. Then I went to find out what it took to stay overnight. Keep reading…I'll be back with more before too long.

Next – "A Night in the Mission", "Running from Frank" and "You've Got Some 'Splaining to Do"

Napping in a Grocery Store

Part TWO of Life on the Street series – Pastor Greg wanted to experience life as a homeless person so on February 1^st, 2008 he left home, walked to the mission and survived on the street for 3 days with the clothes on his back, $5 in his pocket along with some matches, gloves and a small hunting knife.

After leaving the mission, I wanted to find somewhere that was warm and where I could hope to dry out a little. I walked toward the downtown area and ended up with no places to go in and sit down without being too obvious. I eventually arrived at Martin's Supermarket on Jackson Blvd. and wandered the store for a while. I wanted to sit but was sure that I needed some reason (like food) or they would ask me to leave. I used one of my dollars to buy a cup of coffee. I sat and ended up drinking that and another one before I fell asleep in the booth. My feet dangled from the booth and were finally warm even thought they were still soaking wet. I was not sure what to expect but I ended up there for two hours and no one bothered me or told me to leave. Eventually, I refilled my cup once more and headed for the door.

As I passed the trash can – I noticed a couple of the morning's newspapers on the top of the receptacle. Hmmmmm…. A warm fire sounded nice. So, I scooped up those and folded them quickly and headed for the door with fuel in my pocket! Next step – Find a place in the city limits to have an open fire burning and not get in big trouble. Was that possible? I am not sure but I thought it would be worth a try.

I had crossed a bridge earlier and noticed that there was room between the guardrail and the bridge railing to get through and go under the bridge. I also noticed on the one side of the water that there was a dead tree at my level and below the roadway level so I could harvest some more fire fuel if it was dry enough and without being seen. (funny, I was only a couple hundred yards from the police station and the fire department) So, I headed that way. I was not sure what to expect or if that would work but after walking that way it did not take long for my resolve to harden. My feet were freezing and I needed to do something. I was only 5 hours into this and already I was worried. Bridge… here I come.

Life on the Street

As an illustration to an upcoming message about our inability to see past outward appearances, I opted, with my wife's consent, to spend three days and two nights in Elkhart as a homeless person with little money. Crazy, I know, but I felt like, in order to really speak from my heart, I needed to experience what someone who is homeless may experience.
Little did I know what to expect...
I called the Faith Mission in advance to be sure that I was not abusing a privilege or taking a bed that would be spoken for or eat food that would be for someone. The director assured me that I would not have a bed but could sleep on the floor and that the food supply was fine. In fact, he thought I would learn alot from the experience. So - with no barriers - I committed to it. I told only a few people so that there would not be any attention drawn to it. Today and the following posts are going to be dedicated to sharing my experiences - how I was treated, looked at, ignored and helped.
Day 1...
I bundled up with three pairs of socks, several layers of shirts a pair of gloves and a hat. I had a set of flannel lounge pants under my jeans and thought I would be ok. I had a pack of matches, $5, a driver's license for ID and small hunting knife. (my cell phone for emergencies and to keep the couple of people who knew from worry) Just two days before the temps were around -20 degrees - that's right negative 20! However, the night before I left we had an 8" snowfall and the temps wee back to low 30's. Not to bad I thought. I walked away from home around 10:00 am and began my trek to Elkhart's Faith Mission. Lunch was served between 12:30 and 1:00 so I could not dawdle. Snow was falling and the roads were not too well plowed yet.
As I walked along Mishawaka Road I was passed by cars, trucks, and semi's. No one stopped slowed down or honked. They drove by in their warm vehicles while I tromped along. It was interesting, I stopped counting cars after 200. It is only about two miles or so to State Road 19 but since the plows had only cleared the driving lanes - I had to walk in the 12" of plowed snow on the edge of the road until the traffice cleared. It took a long time. I walked along SR 19 - also in the snow when traffic came along - until I reached a side road where I turned toward the mission again. As I turned that corner - a truck driver stopped and asked me for directions - I gave him directions to his destination ( the same direction that I was walking) and he thanked me, rolled up his window and drove off. There I stood...I was now wet up to my knees and my three pairs of socks and my boots were soaked through and cold. I continued to walk - step by step.
As I neared the intersection that would bring me to the turn for the mission I felt an urgency to move faster. The time was growing short and I was getting hungry. I jogged a little ways until I reached the corner and then had two blocks to walk to the mission. As I neared the mission there were several people converging on the mission as I was. Two in front, tow from across the road and a van load of a family that wass just pulling in and unloading.
I walked in with no fanfare at all. No welcome. No instructions. Just empty stares at me as I stodd wondering what to do and where to go next.
I saw the food window and headed that way following the man in front of me. I just imitated what he did and received an huge sandwich and other various food items. I drank several glasses of water and then sat down to eat,. No one spoke. No one looked at me. No one wanted to talk.
I hoped to warm up and hang around for a while but as soon as the time was up every one had to leave. No hanging around here - meal time is over.
Come back again - "Napping in a Grocery Store" and "A Fire Under the Bridge" are next