Here in my home town we dont have a visible homeless problem. But Im sure there are the homeless. The Catholic Church across from the library hands out grocery sacks of free food every Wednesday.
I have heard there is a line waiting for the help.
For two years there was a guy who hung out near a shopping center. He looked to be in his 30s with a bright reddish beard. He was a large man who always wore a very thick hooded jacket even on the hottest days.
He stood and stared all day at the comings and goings of his town. He never held a sign nor did he speak a word to anyone. Yet there were offerings left of food and drink and blankets and books all around his encampment next to the gas station.
I inquired at the gas station about him. They were nice people from Vietman there and they told me he was a quiet man who bothered no one. A couple times a day he used the bathroom and then resumed his position of standing looking out onto the street. They added that a couple times a year someone takes him away to bathe him and return him but he always returns to the street.
I assumed he was schizophrenic and probably separated from a loving family.
We live in a good and decent town and yet this poor soul stood or sat daily in the blazing sun in a winter jacket all day and lay down in the same filthy spot at night to sleep like some lost dog.
I was new to the town and so was new to seeing this man daily at the shopping center. But like everyone else in his town I grew accustomed to his presence near the weeds next to the gas station. It was almost comforting to see him every time I came into town to mail a letter or pick up something at the grocery.
It became summer and the temperatures increased into the 100s. I told my husband that when I went into town that day I was going to buy that man a nice cold something from the store. He approved. So that was my plan.
There he was as I pulled into the shopping center. In the store I spent some time choosing a quality fruit juice with no added questionable high fructose concentrate. I also added some chewy health bars and a couple of crisp fresh apples to the afternoon snack for my hobo.
As I stepped out into the heat from the store I practiced how I would approach this bum, this hobo.
There he was laying on his side like some garden troll in his hooded jacket with no tree for shade.
My heart ached to relieve his suffering a bit that day!
I said "hello"
He startled and I saw I took him by surprise. He looked at me fearfully like some scared animal.
I told him I bought him some cold drinks and delicious snacks because I was worried about him it being nearly 100 degrees. I blathered on about the dangers of heat stroke or something. But I could tell he was not following alot of that. I handed him the cold juice and bag of goodies. He thanked me in such a sweet way! I asked him his name and he said "Rick". My bum, my hobo, my garden troll had a name!! Rick!!!!!
Well, I blathered on again about how the people of the town care about him and how I care about him and how I bought the sodas etc bla bla bla. He opened the ice cold juice and chugged down the cooling liquid and I felt so happy!!!!! I will never forget the exhilerating feeling to offer relief to such a needy person.
But I only did that once. I saw "Rick" many times after that. I filled my car at the pump and there he was, my garden troll Rick. Wait, I did buy him some shirts at the Good Will and dropped those by when with my husband. He managed a thankyou but I dont think he ever wore them.
Then one day he was gone, gone for good. I thought, maybe they came to bathe him again and he would return. But no, not this time. After years on the streets of Our Town America, Rick the homeless guy is gone.
I wonder how many other people like myself think of him every time they come into town and look at the place where he used to live between the shopping center and the gas station. His little island of weeds under the light post in plain view of the entire town. In summer he roasted there. In winter rains he slept under a blue tarp.
Now on another corner of our town sits a woman about my age but very thin and very wrinkled. She too holds no sign nor speaks, but sits silently in her desperate deplorable condition.
The traffic stopped and I found myself within feet of her. I got out and gave her five dollars. I had more but I was cautious. She smiled and gave me a genuine thankyou and bared a mouth missing her two front teeth. Then she said "God bless you dear"
I felt a mixture of shame, fear, and pity as I quickly got back into my car. But most of all I felt good and grateful for her sweet blessing. After all, getting dfd and thrown out as trash myself fairly recently it felt really good to have someone bless me or ask God to bless me. I felt she and I had more in common maybe than it would appear.
Posts by anewme
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anewme
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53
Were You "Refreshed" After Going To Meetings & Assemblies?
by minimus inthey say that our spiritual food is sooo refreshing!
it's "just what we needed"!.
how did you feel after going out in the ministry or after a meeting?.
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anewme
REFRESHED?????
I started to come home and NEED A DRINK after the meetings!!!!
Does that tell you something?
I felt miserable and unhappy and had the persistent nagging thought that I was wasting my life. -
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Free at Last, or am I
by Princess Daisy Boo ini have just spent the last 3 or 4 hours reading everyone's posts and i am so thrilled and relieved that sites like this exist which allow us ex jw's to express ourselves.
i feel compelled to share my story, even though it is probably quite unremarkable.
i have this feeling that finally being able to express my thoughts albeit on the web, will finally allow me some freedom!.
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anewme
Dear Princess Daisy Boo, stay with this forum and read those books suggested here.
When you finally get over your fear of the Watchtower you will feel free and happy!
Welcome!
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I think I owe the board an apology
by LaniB inyes it's past midnight and i'm getting melancholy and starting to rehash my life of late.
melancholy yes, but i haven't hit the bottle yet so its not alcoholly.
seriously though, i thought i'd offer an apology.
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anewme
Yes like the others are saying LaniB, getting out of the cult is a big step, but you realize you dont even know yourself anymore and what you believe or how you feel! You took on the cult mind so thoroughly you have to begin again to reacquaint yourself WITH YOU AND THE REST OF THE WORLD! Like, "Hi world, my name is LaniB, whats been happening since I have been gone?"
Its weird when you first get out and come on the internet and see the Watchtower from a new perspective with new opened eyes. It takes a lot of adjusting and readjusting.
What would you say guys, how long does it take to fully feel free and yourself again?
In my case it took almost two years of joining JWD and logging on daily and reading and writing more than ever in my life to finally feel settled and healed from the awful experience of bondage to the cult.
But I was slow to let go I think. Hope in your case you wise up quicker and enjoy life sooner!
Welcome to you LaniB!
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anewme
In my sweet naivety I thought of course our Minny was referring to the poor street urchins one sees lying in the doorways in busy cities or standing around on corners with visibly nothing to do.
Just this Friday I happened to be assigned with my husband to do some work for a business in old downtown San Francisco. We had to begin in the early hours of the morning. I was appalled at the sight of so many homeless and wasted people milling around. We drove round and round trying to find parking. While doing so we both became increasingly sickened by the filth and degraded condition of so many.
It was apparent that drugs and alcohol were behind much of the poverty. Young and old, men and women were precariously hanging on to life on the streets. The sight became unbearable for me and after searching in vain for over an hour for a suitable parking space for our big truck, we left in disgust.
Surely San Francisco is a beauty by the Bay, but some parts are truly a toilet. -
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When did kids get all the options?
by Sparkplug ini am going to post this at the risk once again of just sounding a bit frusterated.
today at work we were speaking of the "golden days" as it was mentioned.
you know when you were dirt poor and everybody else was too.
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anewme
Well I am sure getting a taste of it too! I am currently renting a room in a big house with a teenager living in it. Well, she comes and goes and sometimes sleeps here.
Anyway, I am just shocked at what a COMPLETE SLOB she is! She is a very bright girl and fun to talk with when she is around, but she contributes NOTHING here! She breezes in and dumps her stuff in the kitchen, makes lunch and leaves her dishes and food for someone else to clean.
AND HER ROOM!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
I see her go into it to sleep, BUT WHERE DOES SHE SLEEP?????? THE BED IS COVERED IN CLOTHES AS IS THE FLOOR AND CLOSET!!!!
When I first moved here I cleaned her room and washed all her clothes and moldy towels on the floor. (Her parents are divorcing and I wanted to show her some support. I wrote her a note apologizing for the intrusion and that I meant it as an expression of love)
She thanked me genuinely.
But the next day the room was a total exploded mess of shoes, jeans towels and brushes.
Dont even get me started on what the upstairs bathroom looks like! Yikes!!!
As I say, I am in total shock. The mother admits she had to go to therapy to learn how to deal with her talented but slovenly daughter.
Apparently the therapist advised her to back off on the nagging and to rest assured that societal pressures will bear on the child in the future and she will self correct in the area of personal organization and cleanliness.
I like today's kids. I think its true that they are under a lot of pressure from the world that we did not have. But I think they will turn out alright in the end.
You who are parents need to try hard to make your interactions with your kids happy ones.
Remember time is fleeting. -
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The things I see (This last weeks photos)
by Sparkplug inand wanted to share.
all day long on weekends, lunch, breaks and such there are moments that calm me.
silly stuff.
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anewme
You are so talented!
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I need a girlfriend
by Junction-Guy inafter this past trip to ohio, i have become painfully more aware of how alone i am.
i miss having someone to share my life with.. .
im almost to the point of dating again, yet i have so many obstacles to overcome.. .
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anewme
A friend of mine recently went on a Sierra Club Singles Hike and found a great guy the first day! I told her she had a cute butt and encouraged her to walk in front of everyone. Guess it worked!
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Hello.
by emilyblue ini posted here a couple of months ago, or less.
my home computer crashed and they cracked down on messageboard sites at my work, so the work laptop was out.
plus, i just felt emotionally burned out and just didn't want to think about it anymore.
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anewme
Emily Blue your post was hard to read. Sickening really. Some of us have married and spent 20+ years with just such a selfish whiny complaining unloving ungenerous woman hating man. They are so wrapped up in themselves they will never try to fulfill your needs or acknowledge them. And one day you will realize he really doesnt like you. Yup, painful days are ahead.
Why not start over? Find someone more healthy emotionally with fewer issues. Life will be so much easier.
Some people are just never going to be healthy and happy in this life. They have been ruined by early upbringing. Pass this pup up is my advice.
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Mary Lou and Joyce shunned me - so I shunned them back.
by AK - Jeff ini used to carry a 'no shunning' policy.
i would not tolerate those who acted toward me like they did not know me after 30 years as a jw.
i would force them to speak - or embarrass the living hell out of them if they didn't.
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anewme
Ive had a few occasions where I ran into witnesses I knew. I think my reaction kind of depends on them to a great degree. If they are snotty or glaring at me with self righteous cult induced hatred, I have just ignored them. When they sneak a small wave or smile a nostalgic smile, I have smiled back in acknowledgment.
But I never invest much emotion into the whole thing one way or another anymore. I no longer miss their association. Theirs are faces from the past that have no meaning in my present life.