The Homeless Man in the Ladies Room who Changed my Life,
or at Least my Night
It was the darndest thing really. I had made plans this morning to hang out with my roommates when I got home from Mom and Dad's. But on the way home I was chatting with God- as I had been feeling kinda emotional, (being home gets me that way sometimes), I decided I should go to church, then I immediately explained away my inkling to go to church as a byproduct of the nostalgic state of mind that is often prompted by visits home, particularly those with grandma Flo (and, in this case, Aunt Eva as well).
Driving up SR 104, I missed my exit and found myself on Parsons, and I suddenly had to pee like nobody's business. So I drove up Alum Creek Drive 'til I thought my bladder would explode with no end in sight and no possibility to stop off. Finally I spotted my Mecca, a white castle in the distance- (no, it really was a White Castle- you know 'sliders'). Anyway, as I'm going in, there is a police car next to me and the cop is taking some man's bag away and putting it in his trunk, and the man looks homeless and sad and gross (like he'd "been rode hard and put away wet"). I go inside to pee and I was doing my business when there was a knock on the door. I told the man to wait a sec and then washed my hands and whatnot. As I was leaving, here comes that same homeless man barreling out of the ladies room, apologizing to me for knocking on the door while I was in there. And he said: "I'm sorry man, I just couldn't wait" and I thought- boy, I know that feeling. And it suddenly occurred to me "I can't wait" either. I wait a lot, find excuses a lot. In any case I felt assured that I was meant to go to church, and was glad to show up at Dewberry and enjoy the service.
Now, I've not by any means had a spiritual renaissance here. And this story of the homeless man in the ladies room may seem kinda silly and perhaps we connect our own dots, as it were, but all I can say is I made it to church tonight for the third straight week in a row, the most often I've been in church in at least 2 years, 2 months and 5 days. And for me, that's more than a coincidence.
Good times.