Peace, love & hygiene: vol94

This week was a wonderful adventure. There were highs, lows, a lot of singing and dancing with the infamous, world renowned, immeasurably talented Sarah L M Mengoni. The experience was a gift for all of us. Perhaps that should be the theme for this week, gifts.

The first gift was that it rained, then poured, then stopped.

My hero and yours, the Stanbulance, has a gift for seeing the unseen. He noticed a man laying on the ground right across the street from where we start. I couldn’t see him at all until Sarah and I got out of the van and walked towards him with food and hygiene supplies. He was laying still beneath a gray blanket.

His feet poked out from beneath the blanket. He was wearing only one shoe. A tan heel poked out of a tattered sock. We left him a gift of clean socks.

We drove away to the burned down house. I asked about Marilyn Monroe. She’s gone. Her boyfriend was paranoid that he was being followed by someone or the police. We took care of five or six people there. The medical team had some work to do, too.

Then we went to the next little homeless campsite. I don’t think the factory is available to get into anymore. There is maybe ten or so feet between the building wall and the straight slope down to the highway. The Girl who Reads was there. I gave her a new book to read as a gift. Nora Roberts is her favorite author.

Big Hands was out. He came up to me and asked me for a hug. He told me that he just really needed someone who cared. I hugged him tight and told him how loved he was. He thanked me. We talked for a while.

Sarah talked to a man who had lost his mother recently. They were able to connect about the feeling of being an only child whose mother has died. They related to one another the feeling of a space inside you. There are a lot of choices how to fill that space. They gave one another the gift of compassion.

I saw a butterscotch tabby cat. I poured some food onto the ground, and he went after it right away. He gave me lots of cuddles as thanks for the gifts. He even jumped on the bumper of the van while I passed out food. We helped a lot of people at that one spot. I passed out pepper spray to all  the females. At our next spot, we sat parked on the side of the road for a few minutes before we noticed the large Victorian house next to us.

It was nearly covered with trees and vines. Eventually, people I knew came out from the side of it. They were there to see Kyle. He was in the process of getting them into housing. Kyle has the ability to gift people with the opportunity to not be forced to survive outside. Speaking of getting people into housing…

The Hobbits are finally getting into their own apartment! Mr. and Mrs. Hobbit worked very hard to get there. They jumped through hoops and unlocked the doors. They walked up all the steps. The opportunity was a gift. The work is all theirs.

We went to where the brothers usually are. I didn’t see them, and it concerns me. We did see another man with a cane. We were able to help him. We didn’t have a new cane for him like he asked, but we had clean clothes and socks. He ended up wearing womens jeans because we were out of mens.

Our last stop of the night was a very popular location for us. People walk up one by one. Then pairs, and groups and then always one or two more until the van was empty again.. We passed out gifts of 75 meals this week . That much I know. I am exhausted. It’s almost 2 in the morning and I’m falling asleep as I type. I need the gift of sleep. I’ll edit this after a few hours of rest.

We gave the gift of food. We gave the gifts of unconditional love and friendship. Tonight, we gave the gift of hope.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.