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Homeless shelter

April 6th, 2009

A couple nights before, I nearly froze to death in Dodge Hill, the windiest city in America.  Last evening, I sojourned at a homeless shelter to escape the bitter cold, after a wind advisory was issued.  Though I am beholden to no one, I am thankful for the ecumenical efforts to provide overnight shelters to indigent transients.  Without such a place, I would be forced to suffer through another miserable night, an experience that I hope not to relive anytime soon.

I understand why homeless shelters are so popular.  They have decent food, entertainment, and toiletries.  In true American spirit, I had overabundance of pork chops, green beans, and an interesting white bean soup, providing me enough calories for the entire week.  It was a great reprieve from the canned food and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that I consumed during the past fortnight.

I just dropped off a homeless man at a truck stop and am currently waiting for my car door to be repaired.  A gust of wind forced the door to open at an angle beyond the normal range of motion, causing a gap while closed, and, whilst driving at higher speeds, makes noise reminiscent of a whistle that is as irritating as nails on the chalkboard.  I am lucky that repairs in Kansas are less than half of what they are in California.  Minimum wage can afford one a much better standard of living here – even a wheat harvester can afford his own dwelling.

Life in Kansas is satisfactory.  The countryside is beckoning me to stay a couple more days.  I just might oblige.

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  1. esther
    April 8th, 2009 at 17:16 | #1

    From my classmate that hails from Manhattan, Kansas: “YAY!!! That’s right!”

  2. Nathan Chan
    April 10th, 2009 at 17:25 | #2

    my poor car…… okay not my car anymore. but still 🙁

  3. April 30th, 2009 at 01:26 | #3

    Dude, wait until tornado season comes…

  4. Jenn
    October 12th, 2012 at 03:52 | #4

    What breaks God’s heart should break our hearts. We need to care for the orphans, the widows, the homeless, etc. What breaks your heart breaks mine, in a redemptive way. Thank you for transforming our minds by illuminating the plight of an epidemic that happens, even in our wealthy country. We may walk by that homeless guy at the market and not know his story. You are a lumineer- bringing forth light out darkness and dark recesses of our minds. From a human’s mind is depravity, but we need to always strive for caring for our neighbor, loving ourselves better, and making this world a better place than we found it. I can’t believe your car got so totaled. I’m glad you are safe, and that the Honda protected you. I also think God was a part of that. ^^

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