“Did you get enough sleep?” The night man asked me. I just looked at him like he was crazy; it was 7 am and I hadn’t gone to bed last night until 3. “Your conscience?” I had to curb my anger when he intimated that I should have a guilty conscience. You see, the night [...]
Archive for the ‘Decisions’ Category
Conscience?
Posted in Bad Decisions, The Mission on December 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I Cudda Used That Twenty-Dollars…
Posted in Bad Decisions, The Mission, Unhelpful do-gooders on November 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Andy is the face of what I call the ‘new’ homeless. He is a chronic alcoholic. His alcoholism is fueled by a $700 check that he receives from the government every month. Within a week, all of that money has been spent on alcohol and to a lesser degree, cigarettes. Sometimes, he springs for a [...]
Maybe This Was a Bad Idea…
Posted in Bad Decisions, The Mission on November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The picture of hand-wringing anxiety, John just kept repeating it, over and over, as he stood in the hallway outside my door: “Maybe this was a bad idea…” “What was a bad idea?” I asked, wanting to assure him that there was no ‘maybe’ to waking me up in the middle of the night being [...]
The Jury Is In
Posted in Decisions, The Mission on October 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“So, now that I’m sick, you’re kicking me out?!” “Yes, I am.” “You can’t do that! I’m too sick to live on the streets!” “I can do it and furthermore, I am doing it. If you’re that sick, perhaps you should go back to the hospital. We’re not a convalescent home. We’re not staffed or [...]
Humility
Posted in Decisions on September 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As I left the mission that June day that now seems light years in the past, I had one thought on my mind: “Dear Father, do I need to be humbled this badly?” I thought about my life and tried to examine my heart realistically. I’d been working as an English teacher overseas for the [...]
