has anyone else been in a house or building where the ceiling fan is wobbly and had the irrational fear that as you slept under it or sat around in that room that the whole contraption might fall, blades still spinning wildly and sever some important artery in your body? no? me neither then...but it was scary.
so i went downtown again this morning and found a place to park and there was a lady sitting on a cement wall, so i went over that way and she asked if i had a couple bucks. i purposely took no cash so that i wouldn't feel bad about not giving out money. so i told her no, but would she like some coffee or a granola bar or something. and she asked if i had anything sweet, so i gave her a granola bar and a bag with some peppermints and butterscotch candies, gloves and crackers. she said someone stole her luggage last night. we sat there for a couple of hours, and during that time, there were several others who came over. some just wanted to talk. one gentleman actually came over and started telling his whole story about his wife and how she is still tied to mama's apron strings at 40 yrs old, and he doesn't get along well with the lady. he said something about some advice his psychic friend had given him: if your wife isn't talking about her, don't you start. if your wife is talking about her, STILL don't talk about her. (good advice even for a psychic). he went on about buying gifts for the ladies in his family because it's all about impressing the ladies...he got that right!
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| it wasn't freezing out, but the cement wall i was sitting on wasn't heated...it was cold enough to appreciate reheated coffee. |
there was another gentleman that came over and again just wanted to chat (and drink coffee..and hey, you got some food over there? smile). he was on his way to memphis to see his mom-coming from las vegas.said he had several teachers in his family as well.
there were a few more who came and went, but there was this one elderly gentleman who asked if i could watch his bags for a minute. having worked for the airlines, the first thought that immediately goes through my head is: no, that is a security risk! never leave your bags unattended and report any suspicious objects! second thought: he trusts me enough to watch every belonging that he has. tall order. well, he was gone for quite a bit and when he came back, he recounted his bags and said he was missing a tote bag. i said, "oh, but you only brought three bags over here." he mumbled something about it got stolen earlier-and i looked at the lady who was still sitting next to me and said, "must be going around." the man sat down and had another coffee, and then he asked if i would like a half of a sandwich, which i had to say no to... and i ended up taking off shortly after that, but i let the lady keep the big aldi bag with some food and extras in it since she her luggage had gotten stolen.
i wasn't sitting down there for but maybe 2 hours, but it is amazing how many people i saw just in that little area who were lonely and had next to nothing. filling the physical needs is one thing, but for most of the people i met today, they needed someone to talk to just as much as they needed a bite or a drink or clothing. how often do we just walk by people or try to avoid eye contact because we don't know what else to do? from now on even if i don't have anything to offer, i still have kind words and a listening ear that need to be available-
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| here's hoping that your Christmas has been blessed and continues in the same manner! |
slow down. don't get so busy that you miss the opportunities that are all around you!
julie
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