Being homeless doesn’t necessarily mean being helpless. It doesn’t mean you don’t have a heart for helping others either. Let me explain.
When I was Junior in High School, I found myself scared and homeless for the first time in my life. I was living in a sleepy little country town, Fallbrook, north of San Diego when my Dad decided to retire from the USMC. He had landed a new job in San Francisco and decided to move there with my Mom. But I didn’t want to move, so I asked my parents to leave me behind. I was getting good grades in school (most of the time), I had transportation (a beat up 1964 El Camino), I had a good part time job (okay, it only paid $1.75/hour), and I had a girlfriend (or at least I hoped she would become my girlfriend).
I guess I was already a pretty good salesman because I convinced my parents to leave me behind, especially since I had a place to stay. A nearby rancher offered to let me stay in his plywood shack that normally housed workers during the summer. It had electricity and a light, but no running water. Fortunately, there was another shack with a bathroom about 100 yards up the hill. So to me, it felt like I was going to be this cool young man, living on his own, experiencing a really awesome adventure.
The adventure didn’t last. After only 6 months, the ranch hands showed up for their normal work season. I had to leave but I had no place to go. Guess I didn’t think it all the way through. As I packed my meager belongings in the back of my truck, I had a knot the size of a baseball in the pit of my stomach. Fear can be a great motivator. So can hunger. So I decided to start asking my friends (and their parents) if I could do chores or help around their house in exchange for a temporary place to stay. I realized early on that even though I was homeless, I wasn’t helpless. My willingness to help others turned out to be a great way to help myself. One year later, I had made it through High School with a scholarship to UC Berkeley, and enough life lessons to fill a hundred Monday Messages.
Recently I was reminded of my humble homeless beginnings when I was working on a Parking Lot Light Pole Inspection in San Diego. When I got to the rear of the industrial complex, I spotted something unusual behind the parking lot, hidden behind some trees. A picture is worth a thousand words!
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