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.