Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Brandon--All Over

One hot afternoon recently I was exiting from the freeway and saw a man down by the stop sign. He hurried across the street in a pretty nifty hat. I had to drive a half a mile before I could turn around and look for him. I found him, too, up under the freeway, sitting in the shade.

I parked and ran across traffic and climbed up there with him. I asked if I could take his picture. "Sure, go ahead," he said. I have such a good new camera that he never knew when I tripped the shutter. "I just came up here for a little rest and a cigarette."

We talked for about 10 minutes. He told me he was from "All over!" He had walked from Belton, Missouri, to this spot since 7 a.m. That was about 8 hours and 14 miles ago, and "I've still got 12 miles to go." He was on his way to "...see about gettin' a job down on Front Street."

The best part of our whole meeting was, "I sure do appreciate you stopping and talking with me. Nobody ever does that. Thanks a lot, man. A picture of my hat, huh? I've had it for two years. Worn it everywhere." I got blessed by this homeless and sunburned young man and I hope I see him again someday.


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5 comments:

WordWhiz said...

What a great idea for a blog! I'm so impressed...but then I'm ALWAYS impressed when I'm at your place!!

kenju said...

Paul, I want to know what his shirt said....."Cowboys May....what?

Scarlet said...

This is great. An encouragement to reach out. Great pic, too!

(Found you at Rachel's!)

Seeker said...

Great outreach, Paul.

Jennie said...

I love that you did that Paul. You touched his heart. He's a handsome guy, I must say!