"I didn't even tell you about the guy who showed me his underwear.."
"Oh, that's normal for you!"
Yes, I am alarmed to admit I got to see a young man's Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer long underwear. He was quite proud of them. I was pretty freaked.
That, though, happened AFTER the Handout.
First thing, I missed the bus. The handcart made wierd noises all the way to the bus stop. I left it up to God, and got there just in time to see the bus whiz by.
Thanks a lot.
I remembered the Sandy Hook handout and set the cart up so people could read it from Antoine (the busy street). Sure enough, a car stopped and I gave away my first 4 Bibles. The bus came driver got a Bible, and a passenger. I got to De Soto and Antoine (it's a nice straight shot, about 8 miles south).
It was really slow at first. I don't know if it was the cold, the early hour (about 3:45), or what, but I was barely moving anything. Then I'd have huge gluts of 2-3 cars screaming for Bibles at the same time. I had one car with Texans flags in the windows. It was in the middle lane, not "my" left turn lane. He came back and got a couple.
The fake designer purse guy was still selling them in the Friendly Mart parking lot. He stared at me for a while, but got back to business. Not that he seemed to have any.
I wistfully thought about putting a Bible in each of the purses....
Today I had more people trying to give me money, for some reason. I declined as always. If I take money the police can shut me down.
I had several right hand lane cars wanting Bibles, at peril of life and limb
I ran over there and distributed. I got stuck on the sidewalk every time. One time, while I was stuck on the wrong side of the street, a guy doing lawn service came along and weedwhacked right by my Bibles, getting grass clippings all over the top layer. I was pretty annoyed, but I brushed them off. When he came back about 45 minutes later with the leaf blower, I put the sign over the top of the crate and gestured for him to proceed. He wasn't very cuddly, and certainly not interested in a Bible.
By the way, I wore my new long underwear and it was great. It was pretty chilly today with a wind. I didn't get overheated or cold, I was "just right".
I had a lot of families. Mom wants one, and one for each of the kids. In a few cases, Mom and her adult friend wanted Bibles; but there appeared to be a reading age child in the backseat. I'd offer one to the kid, and the Mom loved it.
I think my favorite was the pothead car. 3 young men in the car, clearly looking for trouble. The driver, barely 16, was smoking pot. He waved me off but his friend wanted one. I handed the friend 3 Bibles "In case he changes his mind".
Someone with very tinted windows honked pretty vigorously as they went by, and I waved.
An older white guy drove by, did a double-take, and waved. That was fun.
It got pretty slow again, and I had been asking God to let me know when it was time to leave. Daylight savings ended - it gets dark early. I didn't want to stay too late but I didn't want to miss anyone, either.
I decided I would leave when I got down to my last 30 Bibles (I brought 130), or at God's clear direction.
About that time, a carload of young men rolled up and stopped. I got out 4 Bibles (the car was full) but they were very jittery. The last time I saw that behavior I was violently mugged. My radar went up. The car turned a u-turn to the Friendly Mart and pulled up. I heard some pretty loud voices.
A woman pulled up, and wanted 4 Bibles for her kids. And, if I didn't mind, could she have one for herself? This is why I love my recipients. I set her up.
That got me down to my last 30 Bibles, AND those young men were getting louder. It was clear they were looking for trouble.
I really didn't want to present a fat, neon orange, target. I left and headed over to the bus stop, just missing it.
While waiting, I met the young man who showed me his long underwear as he told me how he'd prepared for the cold. He started to pull to show me his boxers, but saw a friend and went off. Only in my life.
The bus came right after that (gotta love those peak hours), and I went home.
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