Hello
friends. What a great time I had serving the homeless this weekend. My parents
were in town this past Saturday. I let everyone know last week that Mom and Dad would be in town
and Dogman immediately announced "Wait until you taste Brian's Mom's
Homemade Cookies" Mom and Dad flew in from Minneapolis late Friday night. My Mom started
working in the kitchen before her bags were unpacked. Dad helped me with the
Ham sandwiches. He was amazed at the chunk of ham I was putting in the ham
sandwiches. I asked my parents what impacted them the most about helping me
serve. My Dad noticed how polite and "real" my friends were. Dad
said, "I wish more people could see this side of the homeless. There are
so many who fear the unknown when in reality, they are just real people down on
their luck" I have heard that more than 70% of the current employed are 1
paycheck away from being homeless themselves. When hit with the same question
my Mom said, because they visit the homeless shelter in Minneapolis and actually spend the night
there as volunteers, there was no surprises while helping me serve. She
mentioned that there was a lot more to the preparations than she expected and
was real impressed with how the Austin Capitol Area Food Bank was utilized in
my service. Most of the drinks, canned soup and potato chips are purchased
through the Austin Capitol Area Food Bank. Of
course my Mom mentioned that she loved making the cookies and really liked
passing them out. They both were trying to get a rise out of me by bringing up
things from my past to try to get my friends to comment on them. “Ask him about
the time he climbed the water tower, that was a time when he was really
reaching for the stars and trying to be an angel.” My friends just laughed but
were very polite and respectful toward me. “Ask Brian about the time he tried
to sneak home at 7AM on a Sunday morning” my Dad shouted out. Nobody ever asked
me, but I am sure there are a few who wonder what the story is. Mom and Dad
have left, but I am sure the cookies and kindness will be remembered by all
until they return again next year.
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