The Hardest Part of Being on the Road

I had an excellent discussion last night with several very creative, engaged folks in the Amarillo area. I'll bring down a few snarky remarks, and, no doubt, crossed fingers when I reveal that these were Unitarians, but, frankly, I've never been judged by Unitarians for my Christian faith, although I've seen many Unitarians judged by Christians for theirs.

Within the course of our discussion, it was suggested that I could use my presence in these modern day Hoovervilles as a bit of a unifying, possibly galvanizing force. Not directly, buit in the standard course of discussion that often leads to these epiphanies.

So this leads me to the new task of needing to organize some literature to direct campers to various resources, and is a good springboard to the relaunch of Hobo's List. All of this, of course, I need to do on a shoestring, as funds for these endeavors are in remarkably short supply.

I will probably check out the Church Under the Bridge concept when I am in OKC. I've been well aware of the ministry since I first read Shane Claiborne's mention of it, but I have to wonder how it's implemented. If it's serious, soul searching faith, I'd be glad to help. If all it is is an attempt at an open air megachurch, well, I wish them well, but it's probably not for me.

But As I was pondering the concept, I went by a building with a large overhang and several garage doors to one side. In my mind's eye, I envisioned putting the clothing and food components of the ministry in the bays behind the garage doors...and then simply throwing them open for the service.

Now to the titular point: the hardest thing I'm finding about being on the road is the delicate way certain situations should be handled. I encountered a family last night travelling across the country to a new place out east, with no prospects, just a hope....cannot help but think of the Okies and Arkies who rolled west during the Dust Bowl. and their crew was just as disshevelled. I want to tell their story, but there's a serious fear I might compromise their safety and security in doing so...and so I sit wondering exactly what to do.

For my part, I can say with fair certainty that I helped them as I could, but will always question whether I could do more. And, just because of some questionable (although, I must add, NOT indicting) things that were said, I did check Amber Alerts to see if there was something I should be concerned about. But that's as far as I will take it; I want to be concerned about the children's safety, but there is no need to jump the gun and make premature conclusions.

The one WalMart parking lot is a tale of two security guards: one is pretty easygoing, the other guy seems a little more suspicious of campers, or at least, of me. I'm not sure if I should find different digs tonight, but certainly will if requested.