Downtown 5/3/15

"...we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always  seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise the words of the prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22


I had to move this week's trip up a couple of hours and it had an impact early on in that I had a little trouble finding folks.  After the last two trips I wanted to avoid big groups of people and just concentrate on loners.  The plan worked out OK, although early on it was a little difficult.  I finally met a couple of men on 18th St who were each by themselves.  The first man, Sergio, was a lot more receptive than the second man, Frank.  In fact, I kind of doubt that was the name of the second guy. He, Frank, seemed to be either wary of me or just didn't want to be bothered, although he didn't mind taking the food.  Sometimes you don't always get the happy positive reaction you might have expected...

Here is what I saw when I drove up to Frank (Sergio was back down the street the other way). You'd have thought Frank would have been a little more receptive.

I met a couple of other men in different alleys for the first time. One man's name was Guillermo and he spoke only Spanish...and a lot of it.  I have no idea what he was trying to tell me, but it went on and on and he kept pointing to the sky.  He didn't seem to be in a panic, so I guess he was OK.  The other guy Nassau was in one of the BBQ alleys and wasn't too talkative at all.  This alley was close to one of the other BBQ alleys and in that one someone started a fire that the fire department had to respond to with all the accompanying emergency vehicles.  A lot of trash builds up in these alleys so there is a lot of debris that can catch on fire.  The last time I was in that alley I was told that one of the people I helped had a tendency to start fires.  This was a pretty big one, because you could see black smoke from several blocks away.

I was starting to become a little disappointed since I hadn't had a good encounter with anyone yet.  I helped another man in another alley and even had a guy in one alley not get out of his 'shelter' but told me to leave the food on the blanket outside.  I declined his request and drove on.  I started praying again.

I drove over to the Jack in the Box, not to take a break, but sometimes there are homeless folks walking around there (and sometimes not).  This time, as I drove in the parking lot, I immediately saw two shopping carts and a homeless man standing a couple of feet away from one of them.  His name turned out to be Thomas Davis.  He was 62 years old from New Orleans.  As I drove passed him with my window down he said he was "hoping to get something to eat".  I guess no one had offered him any help.  Well, I parked and got out of the car so he could go through the clothes in the back too.  He told me he had come out here forty years ago seeking fortune and fame in the music industry, but nothing materialized and he never went back home. His mother lived in Galveston, Texas.  I reminded him of the old Glen Campbell song by that name and he remembered it well and said it always reminded him of his Mom, whom he never saw again after he left home.  Here's his picture.

Thomas was really happy I stopped.  He got some food and water, a change of clothes, even some shoes and socks and probably what really helped his morale was some conversation with someone. Yes I prayed with him too.  It was the best stop of the day.

Well, I said earlier that I didn't want to stop where there were a lot of people, yet I headed over to where I know there is a large congregation of homeless folks, but was just driving by when I saw two people on a street adjacent to where that location is.  I drove around and stopped where the two people were.  They turned out to be Beverly and Miguel.  Now Beverly was at the BBQ last summer. Miguel was a friend of hers who at one time worked at either the gas station or a recycling center around the corner.  I'm not sure why he was there Sunday.  I had three burgers left that I gave to them. Miguel might be a new homeless person because Beverly was warning him about the white T-shirts I had (they show dirt quickly).  Here's their picture..

    
While I was praying with them, another man walked up and wanted to look through the clothes (luckily that was all he wanted because I was out of food).  Anyway, I opened up the back of the car again and he picked out a few things, then said he had something for me.  He said they were brand new and urged me to look inside the bag that he had left in my car.  I looked and had to smile.  He said he couldn't pass up a new pair of boots, but obviously couldn't wear them.  I think he thought he might be able to trade them for something.  I always try to be gracious when someone homeless wants to give me something.  Now what do you think I'm going to do with these?????

I don't think these "boots were made for walkin'"

Until next time. --John