This story is both funny and sad.<\/p>\n
I came home from a Monday night meeting and saw that my neighbor\u2019s lights were still on, so I decided it would be a good time to deliver an apple cream pie to him. I had made the pie earlier as a token of appreciation for him clearing my driveway of snow and salt after the winter\u2019s latest dump.<\/p>\n
I rang his doorbell, but he didn\u2019t answer. I guessed he was next door at the triplex he owns because a van advertising solutions to sewer problems was left running outside. Renters don\u2019t call service people on their own.<\/p>\n
After realizing that he wasn\u2019t in his home, I was about to set the pie down on his step and go home, knowing that he would see it, know where it came from, and bring it inside to place in his freezer (the pie was already cut up into pieces). But I changed my mind when I saw a stranger walking up his driveway. The man had a huge backpack on his shoulders. He said he was hungry. Well, hell, I\u2019m not going to give him the pie.<\/p>\n
He asked for a ride and I told him I wasn\u2019t going anywhere. He sat down on a decorative barrel that holds flowers in warmer months. I told him to leave. He shuffled down the driveway and headed north. I left the pie on the steps.<\/p>\n
Catholic guilt got the best of me. I had just attended a funeral the Saturday before and heard the biblical passage of Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 35-40 [Matthew 25: 35-40]<\/p>\n
35<\/a><\/strong>\u2018For I was hungry, and you gave Me something<\/em> to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something<\/em> to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36<\/a><\/strong>naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.\u2019 37<\/a><\/strong>\u201cThen the righteous will answer Him, \u2018Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something<\/em> to drink? 38<\/a><\/strong>\u2018And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39<\/a><\/strong>\u2018When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?\u2019 40<\/a><\/strong>\u201cThe King will answer and say to them, \u2018Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even<\/em> the least of them,<\/em> you did it to Me.\u2019<\/p>\n Okay, the bible verse didn\u2019t actually say, \u201cI was walking and you gave me a ride\u201d, but I think the sentiment was the same. I pulled out of the driveway and headed north. I didn\u2019t see him. Perhaps he got a ride from someone else. I went around the block, saw my neighbor and told him the pie was on his step, and began driving north again. I saw the stranger coming out from behind some houses. I rolled the window down and said, \u201cdo you still need a ride?\u201d He got into the car.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere you going\u201d, I asked him. He mumbled something about a convenience store at the top of the hill. There is a convenience store on Lower Beaver Road, not that far from where we were. Then he said it was near a Perkins restaurant with a gas station across the street and that it might be on Merle Hay Road. \u201cOkay, I know exactly where that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n We get to the intersection of Merle Hay Road and Meredith Avenue and he says, \u201cthis isn\u2019t it.\u201d He spotted a McDonalds down the road and said, \u201cI remember that McDonalds, go that way.\u201d So, I make a possible illegal turn and head north on Merle Hay Road. As we get close to the McDonalds, he notices that there is a QuikTrip on the other side of the Interstate and tells me that is the gas station by where he camped.<\/p>\n Under Interstate 35\/80 and into the QuikTrip we go. He has second thoughts. I said, \u201cYou\u2019re not from around here, are you?\u201d \u201cNo, Washington state.\u201d There was no way I was going to drop him off so that he could sleep under a bridge. The temperature thingy on my car\u2019s dashboard indicated that it was 9 degrees outside.<\/p>\n I asked him what he was doing in Iowa. \u201cNo one comes to Iowa to bed down for the night in the middle of winter,\u201d I told him. He said he was kicked out of some town in Illinois and went to Idaho. He didn\u2019t want to go through Michigan. \u201cI guess I\u2019m just a rambler,\u201d he said. No, it didn\u2019t make sense to me either and I didn\u2019t want to pursue it further.<\/p>\n He asked if we were in Urbandale. \u201cNo\u201d, I said, \u201cwe\u2019re in Johnston. He mumbled some things I didn\u2019t understand and asked if we could drive up the road into Johnston. \u201cWhat are you looking for,\u201d I asked him. \u201cAre you looking for a place to sleep?\u201d I never got a straight reply. He wanted to travel up to the bridge straight ahead. I told him there was no bridge straight ahead and he wanted to argue with me. I once lived in Johnston \u2013 on the poor side of town.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s over that way?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cGrimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s in Grimes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore houses like these.\u201d I swept my hand over the homes north of 62nd<\/sup> Ave. He told me there was a golf course in Johnston.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, there is a golf course in Johnston. You\u2019re not thinking of playing a round, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n It was this point in our venture in which I began to either get pissed or scared. I turned around and said nothing more to him.<\/p>\n I pulled into a Casey\u2019s store and asked him if he wanted anything. \u201cCan you get me a maple log and a cup of coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n I went into the store, almost forgetting to shut the car off and take the key with me. I asked the clerk if they had any maple logs. She told me that all the pastries were thrown out for the day. I poured a cup of coffee, put a lid on it, picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza and paid for it all. When I got in the car, I handed it to him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m taking you to the shelter,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one on University and Ninth?\u201d<\/p>\n Hmm, I hadn\u2019t thought of that one. I was thinking about the one on Mulberry Street. But that\u2019s where I\u2019ll take him; to the closest. <\/em><\/p>\n The guy didn\u2019t eat the pizza right away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was staring at me. Then, he ate the pizza slice in about 3 bites.<\/p>\n On the way to the shelter, he started moving his arms and hands as though he was chasing a fly away and kept repeating: \u201cOh, Alice. It\u2019s going to be alright.\u201d Yep, he verified that there may be a mental screw out of place.<\/p>\n He asked me if I had any old cars. \u201cThis is the only old car I own. It\u2019s the only car I own.\u201d Well, that\u2019s not true, but I think I know where he was going with the questioning. He had been looking for a car to sleep in.<\/p>\n I quit talking to him. A van in the left lane began to merge into our right-hand lane and I reacted quickly. He started rattling off all sorts of incomprehensible mumblings.<\/p>\n Well, I dropped him off at the Bethel Mission on 6th<\/sup> Ave. He got out, threw his backpack over his shoulder and thanked me. I told him to get a good night\u2019s sleep and take care of himself. He closed the car door and I took off down the road. I could see in my mirrors that he did not walk into the mission, but proceeded to walk north, probably in search of an old vehicle with unlocked doors. He had told me earlier that he needs to protect himself and his possessions.<\/p>\n I realized there was nothing more I could do. I turned west onto Indiana Avenue and traveled to 9th<\/sup> street. I turned north onto 9th<\/sup> and when I got to 9th<\/sup> and Clark Streets there was a car with its front wheels stuck in a snowbank. A person was standing by the front of the car looking at the situation.<\/p>\n I quickly turned to the Bible verse. No, there was nothing there that I can recall about \u201cI was stuck in the ditch and you pushed me out.\u201d Nope.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This story is both funny and sad. I came home from a Monday night meeting and saw that my neighbor\u2019s lights were still on, so I decided it would be a good time to deliver an apple cream pie to … Continue reading