Yuletide Cheer

We talked sports with Mr. Lucas and he showed us his super-duper space heater--his van glowed like Rudolph's nose.

First we tried the barren parking lot. No one showed. We then figured to go in search of some of our friends. We had plenty to give, and we wanted to make sure all received their Christmas gifts. Over some hills and tracks, but no one.

We eventually found a large gathering at St. Bernard's--some faces we hadn't seen for a while. We had a good laugh, ate some marvelous soup, and stayed out a bit late just hanging out in the cold.

Click here the see the WAKR article on Project HOPE.

Beacon article on Mr. Flint, one of our more famous pals.

Last Night's Details

Leave it up to Papa Bear to tell ya how it is. In his sage wisdom don't let cop cars stop you from driving down the road. With a quick clean and a shave he was on his way.

Mozart and Spanky went for a little walk tonight as Mr. Lucas brought up battle wounds from the St. V-M loss, but is still a proud alumnus of '78.

It was a rather quiet night across the board. Mama was in her Christmas garb as Mrs. Claus. Pa took a spill outside while walking the dog, and Jim spent 13 hours at the library reading some books.

In search of Perch but he was nowhere to be found, but that led us to Mike who was out for a little stroll along the tracks. Broke up with his lady and didn't have anywhere to go.

Just remember...July 21st is the day. Rambo III is watching you in case you take anything they will know and so will the Akron Police.

Ignorance and Want

Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance allows us to act without regard to consequence. It allows us to purchase from an array of flavorful cereals without knowing what ingredients went into making them taste so good. It allows us to purchase expensive perfumes without concern to the possible horrors that befell the men or beasts whose lives went into them. It allows us to follow ideologies blindly and sometimes dangerously. AND, it allows us to ignore the hundreds of Akronites who live out in the cold each Christmas. It's easy to allow the absurdity of homelessness to exist if we're blind to it, just as it's easy to allow violence if we dehumanize a group of people based on the lies of another. Charles Dickens' Spirit of Christmas Present warns us in A Christmas Carol to beware of ignorance, for embracing ignorance yields hurt and pain.

Last night, we were all taken by Mike. Newly homeless, Mike accepted a couple of blankets and a pair of gloves from us. Then, we watched with the discomfort of the winter cold as Mike trudged his way across the snow and back into the wooded darkness.

Adapting to the cold

We pulled into the vacant, snow- covered lot across from Furnace Street Ministries, hoping to find some of our friends. A figure appeared from the desolate woods, his bulky figure a mere silhouette against the white surroundings. Perch, alone, bundled to the nines. Smiles and laughter kept our minds off the relentless cold.

Jimmy met us outside Mama's in a t-shirt and high spirits. We left him with a new leather coat--he looked cool, er cold.

Dave told us about some rather precarious Teletubbies, and Kenny kept the students entertained, as usual.

Desolate Bernard's sent us to the Haven, where we set up shop and met Bo and Branden, the homeless Marine and Firefighter. They appreciated the stop.

Class of '78

Scribe book--
"It's snowing! So the cold has arrived, but nothing holds us back. We set out and arrived first at a roadside motorhome. Mr. Lucas had two puppies (Mozart and Spanky), they were white (bichon). They were friendly and cute. "

"Our next leg of the journey was in downtown Akron. There, we met Stu (identifiable by his walk) and Theo (walking by the Speedway). We talked a little." (They enjoyed the soup, which included asparagus and peaches)

"We danced at St. Bernard's on the ice sidewalk."

--written by John