My neighbor, Joyce, is to thank for getting Clara down to the Rescue Mission in Columbus, Georgia. A good Samaritan from her church agreed to take her.
"She's living on the loading dock behind the dollar store," I told Joyce.
"How can someone live like that?" Joyce asked.
"She needs some help sobering up and getting a ride to Columbus to stay at the Mission."
"Let me make some calls," Joyce said, hurrying inside to use the phone.
I busied myself cutting up a large pecan tree limb in Joyce's backyard only to return to Joyce saying that a person has agreed to take her this afternoon. I walked down with the details of the meeting to tell Clara.
"Somebody's gonna take me, just like that?" Clara asked with doe eyes.
"Get your stuff together. They are picking you up in front of the Korean restaurant at 5 PM. Time to make the evening influx at the Mission."
"Thank you," Clara told me with beer breath as she came over to give me a hug.
"I won't forget you. You take care of yourself," I replied with an air of sadness and also joy.
I solemnly walked up the road wondering what was in store for Clara. She was the only homeless person I knew of in the Valley. I almost envied her to be setting out for a new life and new environs. I crave the structure such an environment would bring -- my life being so willy nilly and haphazard. I will go to sleep tonight feeling resigned that what Clara did was a good thing and that she is in safe hands. Another chapter in the lives of "the gang" draws to a close.
10 comments:
A bittersweet post that brought tears to my eyes. Good-byes are always hard,even when someone is going off to something better. A new chapter for Clara... Hope you will be able to get updates.
Breathe and move forward...
Peace,
Lena
Lena,
It was hard! I almost cried being so emotional these past few days. I wanted to go with her to protect her and make sure they were going to treat her well at the Mission. Thank you for the comment. They mean so much to me!
Andrew
I was wondering where Joyce has been. You were such a good friend to Clara, right from the beginning. I hope her time in the mission helps her become sober and that she gets back on her feet again. Winter is coming, and she needs shelter and structure. I know you'll miss her.
How's your mom doing? Do you still see her on Thursdays? You haven't mentioned her lately.
I'm going to upload pictures of Emily. She's at the dance now. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch over her.
wow andrew you are such a good friend , its too bad you dont know what a nice person you are and how helpful you are to people that have no one else. did you ever think that maybe God sent you here for just that reason? i know u think yu have no purpose to life but i think you do have a great purpose in your life . huggs to you and those in need :) i will say an extra prayer for you tonite that you find the peace you need so much . good nite
Again you demonstrate that you are truly more than the sum of all your troubles. You reach out and help someone who needs a hand. This behavior is partially motivated by your bad experiences, but it is also an example of your nature, of who you are. Please remember this part of who you are when you are tempted to only see the bad things.
Andrew,
I saw a movie tonight that made me think of you, it's called "Into the Wild". A story of a young man who comes from affluence and gives it all away to go follow his dream to live in the wilds of Alaska.
Take care my friend, you're a kind and gentle soul.
you helped set good things in motion.
be well, sugar *hugs*
but hopefully, a new chapter opens for her. :-)
Funny, so I was..wondering what was new with Joyce, for that matter...
You do, by the way dear Mr 4th, have that structure just in different ways..
It's hard to see someone go, and whats worse is for someone as kind as Clara, you hope for amillion better things for her than she has now..the lines of hope within our soul..amazing!!
Hope you're managing well between this and the issues with Rosa..
if we lived close I'd offer to help babysit for ROsas granddaughter..I'm so used being around boys all the time?
Good grace-Ezz!
Always,
Crusty~
Something tells me Clara can take care of herself if they aren't nice, lol. I hope she does well and finds a way out of the life she has been living.
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