Sitting in Limbo

Original post 1/20/10 This is a repost of a past posting. 6/25/11

The big tree in the library

Ok, so I am still waiting for January 25th. Why is it in life when you don’t want something to come, it is here in a flash. When you are looking forward to something, father time puts things in slow motion. Not enough hours in the day but years between weeks. I am over anxious and excited about what the next year will hold. In the meantime, I had an experience that inspired another Flip side story.

I took my son to the library across town. This particular library has a huge tree that kids can play in and a sleeping dragon that snores. It is a really neat library. The plan was to read, play and have a little lunch in the cafe. While we were in the cafe, we were in line behind a man who appeared to be homeless. It was

The sleeping Dragon.

obvious that he had no money because the cashier (who appeared to know him) said he could have his coffee for only a quarter. I felt for the man. I wondered if he was hungry. He was very friendly and had said hello when we came in. I took a chance that could have backfired (but it didn’t matter because my intentions were good) and asked him if he was hungry. I offered to buy him some food. He was very sweet and declined the offered. After a bit of persuasion, he said he would love a candybar. We talked for a moment and I found out his name was Victor. He wanted me to know he was a religious man. He was very kind and grateful for what I did. Of course, I didn’t feel like I did enough. He left and I chatted with the cashier and found out that he is in fact homeless and rides his bike around. What is also nice is that the cashier obviously takes care of him. I tried to find him again to give him some money but he was no where to be found.

The Cafe in the library.

As I reflected on the experience, I felt a need to honor Victor in some way and a story began to flow. The words in the story are written from our conversation in the Cafe. It took an hour to write it. Of course, I have done some editing since. I needed to write it right away so the feelings of the experience could make their way on to the paper. I am proud of the story and I hope I can share it with you someday.

Above pictures are of the library. Below is the library cafe where I met Victor right at that counter.

“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life. “

Henry Ward Beecher