|
magdaleine -> RE: Magdaleine's Alabaster Atrium (5/5/2008 8:04:48 PM)
|
Yeah, it certainly was an interesting and long day. Were you up late or up early, Catherine? Must have been up late.
One thing that was really cool about Urgent Care was that they had a long desk-high counter with electric outlets so that people could use their computers while waiting. That's so cool! I had thought of bringing my computer but I had drained the battery in the afternoon and not knowing that there would be an easy place to plug in, I left it at home. I won't the next time I'm there. I'll bet they have free wireless as well.
I'm at The Forks with ds4. I took him on a walk around the rivers and bridges and now we're both sitting with our computers in the coffee shop. So much fun!
On our walk we met the woman I had sat and listened to for an hour the other day. She seemed pleased to see me. I introduced her to my son and him to her but we didn't stay long. She bought herself a book on spirituality that was advertised on Oprah. She showed it to me. I'm concerned because it will be full of new age stuff but it wasn't the right time to discuss that so please, if/when you think of it, pray that what she reads there will not take root but that she will stay open to Jesus. My guess is that she doesn't realize there's a difference.
A bit later on our walk we came to a man busking with his voice and guitar--an older man, probably in his 60s. He seemed to want to talk so we stood there for a bit. He had one of his pantlegs rolled up which exposed what I suppose is cellulitis. It was red, swollen and parts of the skin were broken and very ugly. Several places he had round wounds on this swollen leg that reminded me of the cigarette burns I've seen on others. He says he's dying of cancer and his leg will have to be amputated. If it comes to that, he has an old magnum at home he will use to shoot himself.
What do you say to something like that? And how much is truth and how much is posturing? I asked him if I could pray for him but he declined, saying he has no use for religion and yet at one point I saw a tear trickle down his cheek. Was it because someone cared enough to stop and listen to him?
He needed money and tried several ways to get some from us. He pointed to the bit thrown into his guitar case and said he only needed two more dollars before he went home. He had a tape in his pocket, presurmably of him playing and singing, that he offered to sell us for $5 and later offered to sing a song he wrote if we would give him $5 to listen. We declined and he still sang part of the song, eager to know if we thought it could be a hit. Ds4 was very kind in saying that yes, it could be. In my opinion, it might have in the 60s but not today but I kept those thoughts to myself. He truly is good with the guitar. He sang Blowing in the Wind and I joined him with my alto. He tried to impress us with well-known guitarists/singers/bands that he's been associated with in some way but the names were meaningless to me. My son recognized one.
After we'd been there for a bit, he got a bit gruff and told us that since we weren't giving him any money, he needed to get back to work. Ds4 and I agreed that he was probably chasing us away because he was starting to get emotional again and didn't want us to see it.
I'm home now. While we were sitting with our computers, ds2 came online and I was chatting with him when ds1 also came online from Seville, Spain. That was really cool. He's having a great time. Ever hear of couch surfing? It's an international network of people willing to let others spend the night on their couch, free of charge, while they're travelling. Ds1 has already stayed on two different couches, one in Paris, and said his hosts were awesome, showing him around the cities and such and refusing any sort of tangible "thank you." He forgot his camera battery charger at home and had a hard time finding a replacement. He wound up having to go to Madrid, Spain (a city he wasn't going to visit) to buy the right one, over-priced.
Although my day started very, very late, it's been a good day. For the time being I've officially stopped trying to eat to lose weight. I wasn't succeeding anyway. I know I need to find something that will work for me but for now I've decided to not stress about it and wait.
|
|
|
|