Random thoughts from a muddled mind

I saw a homeless man today pulling a full shopping cart with a wagon bungeed behind it. Like a train, he pulled the heaping mounds of stuff along Hwy 17. From the perspective of his other homeless friends...is he materialistic or blessed?

A Prayer with Teeth

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with Discomfort…
at Easy Answers,
Half-Truths,
and Superficial Relationships,
so that you may live
Deep Within Your Heart.

May God bless you with Anger…
at Injustice,
Oppression,
and Exploitation of People,
so that you may work
for Justice, Freedom, and Peace.

May God bless you with Tears…
to shed for those who suffer from Pain,
Rejection,
Starvation,
and War,
So that You may reach out Your Hand
to Comfort them and to turn their Pain into Joy.

And may God bless you with enough Foolishness…
to Believe that You can Make a Difference in this world,
so that You can DO what others claim cannot be Done.
Amen.

Cotton Candy--Inspired by true events

Looking across Kings highway, Amber glanced at the roller coaster. Clicking and climbing upwards, until it reached the point where gravity grabs control. Much faster than the ascent, the whooshing of the downward plunge takes her breath. Although she is not on "The Hurricane", she can feel the gut wrenching excitement stir within. She sighs, then breathes deep, and smiles. Her nose is tickled with the scent of cotton candy, and she is taken elsewhere.

The horn of a Escalade blares, waking her from her brief respite from reality. She nods apologetically to the driver, as he whips past. She enters into the gas station, to buy Marlboro light 100's, and a lighter.

Leaving, she lights one up, and takes a heavy draw. She sees Josh coming in the distance. At eighteen, she "knows" that this is love, and that he is "the one." Myrtle Beach is a starting point, a new beginning, a place to learn about each other. The only place they can afford is a roach motel, with a crack dealer for a bell hop. All this for the bargain price of 55 bucks a night. Unable to save money, and working temp jobs, this seems to be the only option. At night, the lights from the Pavilion shine into the window, and they hear the squeals of the paying funseekers, and the carnival piped in music. They see, they hear, they smell, but they never participate.

Her head is pounding tonight, maybe from working a double shift, or perhaps from smelling too much roach spray. She goes to the bathroom at Wal-Mart to take a pill. Looking into the mirror, she sees the face of a stranger. "Things are getting better," she says....trying to say it in a way that will evoke belief. Josh has not hit her in three weeks now. Work has been steady. The mission has given them many good hot meals, with the only cost being hearing about Jesus, from a man that has a nice car, home, and cushy job. Someone enters the bathroom, Amber takes the pill and goes back to work.

Josh passes her in the hall and asks her where she has been. He is angry, as he was hoping to get a full time job with Wal-Mart. However, he just was informed about the background check portion of the hiring process. "I guess the three assault charges will haunt me again," as he leads Amber back to the job, where he can always see just what she is up to.

The next day, Amber walks outside for a smoke. Her swollen eye, and busted lip are throbbing, but she balances the cigarette on the other side of her mouth. The wind changes direction, and she pauses, and smells the cotton candy, and dreams.