I decided to pull a "yellow ribbon" challenge today. The "yellow ribbon" challenges are for work days only. After the Day 1 doozy yellow ribbon challenge, I've steered clear of them. But with only 7 challenges left in the box and 2 with yellow ribbons, I'm down to the wire. I was quite relieved to open and find this challenge.
I went to bed yesterday and woke up today feeling down, so maybe this challenge would cheer me up. Since I awoke early I decided to bake cookies to put in the lunch. I made the special "firefighter" cherry chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies. The house smelled delightful but when I took them out of the oven, they had collapsed and were flattened. Dammit. I can't give those away. I was disappointed and felt even more gloomy.
We have no lunchmeat for a sandwich. Terri suggested tuna. Tuna!? Really!? Gross. Who would eat tuna from a stranger? It's risky on a good day. So I made a couple PB & J sandwiches on Dave's Killer Bread with TJ's chunky peanut butter and raspberry preserves. What else? I added 2 apples, some different cookies, 2 granola bars, some primo Halloween candy. What about a drink? We don't buy bottled water, soda, or juice boxes. Hmm. A large bottle of Pellegrino? Nah. We just happened to have 2 cans of Golden Road Point the Way IPA. Probably against the good advice of any homeless advocate, I put the beer in the bag. What the heck. If I was on the streets I'd want a beer. The lunch was too heavy for a paper sack, so I put it in a canvas bag with a couple cloth napkins for dignity and added a little note..."Have a better day."
I headed out to find a homeless person upon which to bestow the lunch.
About a block from my house I've recently noticed what appears to be a small homeless encampment. I went there first. It's a few grocery carts, plywood and other objects covered in blue tarps and blankets and tied down with rope. I called out, "Hello" a few times with no reply. On top of the "tent" is a cardboard sign explaining that the property belongs to Hector, a war vet who is awaiting section 8 housing. Hector was not there and I could not tell if he lives there or would be back anytime soon, so I didn't leave the lunch.
At the off ramp near work, Helen, the homeless woman I met earlier in the challenge, often stays. A homeless man with his dog are also frequently there. So I headed there. No one was there at the off ramp nor did I spy any backpacks or grocery carts in the vicinity.
I've recently noticed a homeless man and woman setting up their camp on Walnut near the church so I went there next and drove all around that area. Homeless are often located at those overpasses and off ramps. I could find no one.
I drove up to Fair Oaks and down the freeway frontage road. No homeless.
Feeling even more down, I decided to call it a morning and head to work since I was already late. I'll try again later. I brought the lunch bag in and stuck it in the fridge. Someone brought fresh pastries from Porto's into the lunch room so I added some to the lunch bag.
On my lunch break I decided to try again. Judy in the office mentioned she had seen a homeless woman nearby when she had been at lunch. From her description I knew it was a woman I'd seen in the area. I pulled out of the parking lot and spotted the woman walking down the street. What luck! I drove down the street, turned around and waited for the woman. She was pulling a "granny cart" full of plastic bags. She's a rather attractive, slightly built woman who wears her long gray hair tucked up in a baseball cap with the cap down very low over her face and her head down looking at the ground. I had the sobering realization that for her own safety she probably tries the best she can to hide the fact that she's an attractive female. I called out to her, "excuse me, excuse me, are you homeless?" she ignored me at first then turned toward me and nodded her head. "Are you hungry? Do you want some food?" She shook her head no and kept on walking. Rejected. Now I was really feeling gloomy.
I drove to the park in Old Towne. There were several homeless people there. One was a woman filling a paper cup from the drinking fountain. I approached and called out Hello. She was now sitting on the ground and looked up at me sunburned face and dirty hair tied up in a bandana like Aunt Jemima, bed roll, a backpack, and a large stuffed teddy bear nearby. " Are you homeless?" I asked. "Yes, but just temporarily", she said. I offered her the food which she gladly accepted. She seemed surprised by the gesture. As I walked away she waved good bye and said thank you. I sat in the car a minute and watched her. She looked through the bag, pulling items out and setting them aside. She pulled out a sandwich, opened the bread and looked inside, then took a bite. She pulled out a can of beer, tapped the top a couple times, then popped it open. She took a swig then held the can out to read it then took another big swig. I smiled and drove away, my gloom beginning to lift.
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