Life is one colorful journey, that is for sure.
Last weekend I was in my hometown, to attend and take photos for a friend who was having a dedication at her spouse's grave, in celebration of his life. His headstone was just recently put in place and she has since passed the full 'annual' cycle of grief. Her spouse was a long time friend and I was honored to be invited to attend and to take the photos of the day. Dean loved photography, too.
The dedication was a officiated by the same pastor who conducted his service at death. As you would expect, it was somewhat bittersweet. There was such a nice showing of family and loved ones. After the dedication there was a gathering at their home, for fellowship, food, and sharing stories, photos, and videos.
The day was long and quite high on the emotional scale, yet exhausting at the same time. After the family members and visitors left I suggested we just 'go out' somewhere, for awhile. It was only 9 pm and my friend was still pacing the floor, from the day's activities. I felt it was a way to unwind and chill out a bit.
I called my niece and we decided to meet her at a bar, downtown. I have not been exposed to my hometown's downtown Saturday night activities, for years (maybe decades). Unfortunately, I had a moving 'hit and run'; we were stunned! I was sideswiped by one of those 'crotchrocket' type of motorcycles. His speed was so excessive that he got off balance, slammed into my driver's side door, then catapulted himself and hit my side mirror so hard it was slammed backwards against the car and the impact took off the mirror's housing (plastic cover). He slammed into my driver's side window and door so hard, it sounded explosive. A few seconds one way or the other and this hit and run accident could have been a whole different outcome. I can't help but wonder if he has any children. It saddens me that we have a couple of generations who have no moral fiber or even a conscience. I mean, no, don't come back and see if we're all right; hell no.
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The bike that hit me was similar to the one I've posted here. It didn't have accessories; it was much simpler than this one. It had rounded, wing-like fender skirts on the front, as I could see the bright orange, when he sped away. Once he gained his balance, he not only left the scene, but accelerated when he sped away.
Then, on Sunday . . . oh, boy! This was the topper, for my crazy, mixed up weekend.
On Sunday morning I left my friend's house when she was ready for church. I was invited for church, but declined because I wanted to visit my brothers before leaving town.
After visiting my brother, I called the police from his house so I could file a police report about my hit and run accident the night before, just in case. Since I live elsewhere, it's just easier to have it documented.
I was still a bit wound up, so I decided to go to the park. There was an ice cream shoppe across the street. I stopped and got me a double dip or ice cream, went to the park and sat under a nice shade tree. After chillin' a bit in the park, I decided a walk would be good before heading home. So I went to my car, got my camera and walked through and around the park, taking photos.
It was a nice day so there were a few people enjoying the day, too. As I was taking a pic of the fountain a man 'posed', so I took a pic of him. He was wandering through the park greeting anyone who crossed his path. Lucky me.
He began a conversation, chit chat about the nice weather, etc. Then he began quoting scripture, and talking bible stuff. As you can see by the middle photo, he was decked out with crosses. He offered me one, on the condition that I would actually 'wear' it, as it was his desire to share God's word.
He had necklaces, a bracelet with a cross on it, and also a wallet with a jeweled cross on the front of it. I'm the kind of person who trusts people, until they give me reason not to ... the same with this guy. He asked me if I would 'wear' one of them. I told him no, I probably would not wear it, but I thought it was a beautiful piece, of Jesus on the cross.
I told him I would not wear it, but that I would post a story about our meeting along with pics I took of him, and the cross he so kindly gave me. He was cool with that. You can see the one I took because you can see, the third photo, the longer necklace is gone.
On Sunday morning I left my friend's house when she was ready for church. I was invited for church, but declined because I wanted to visit my brothers before leaving town.
After visiting my brother, I called the police from his house so I could file a police report about my hit and run accident the night before, just in case. Since I live elsewhere, it's just easier to have it documented.
I was still a bit wound up, so I decided to go to the park. There was an ice cream shoppe across the street. I stopped and got me a double dip or ice cream, went to the park and sat under a nice shade tree. After chillin' a bit in the park, I decided a walk would be good before heading home. So I went to my car, got my camera and walked through and around the park, taking photos.
It was a nice day so there were a few people enjoying the day, too. As I was taking a pic of the fountain a man 'posed', so I took a pic of him. He was wandering through the park greeting anyone who crossed his path. Lucky me.
He began a conversation, chit chat about the nice weather, etc. Then he began quoting scripture, and talking bible stuff. As you can see by the middle photo, he was decked out with crosses. He offered me one, on the condition that I would actually 'wear' it, as it was his desire to share God's word.
He had necklaces, a bracelet with a cross on it, and also a wallet with a jeweled cross on the front of it. I'm the kind of person who trusts people, until they give me reason not to ... the same with this guy. He asked me if I would 'wear' one of them. I told him no, I probably would not wear it, but I thought it was a beautiful piece, of Jesus on the cross.
I told him I would not wear it, but that I would post a story about our meeting along with pics I took of him, and the cross he so kindly gave me. He was cool with that. You can see the one I took because you can see, the third photo, the longer necklace is gone.
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And now, the rest of the story!
Here's where the story takes a turn. After my accepting his gift, he wanted to 'pray' with me. All right; I'd had a challenging weekend. We can't have enough prayers, right? Or not. People like to hold hands when they pray; I'm fine with that. However, he put our hands kind of close to his belt buckle (it also has religious significance). I tried to ignore his action, although I felt a bit strange about it. Shortly after he prayed with me, he made a couple unusual remarks, creating a few red flags.
The first one, "I've been giving away these crosses for a long time, and I'm still a single man." Ok, RED FLAG #2 ... then, stepped closer, rubber my upper arm and said to me, "You have such soft skin," with a seductive look in his eyes. At that point, I stepped back away from him, put my hands in the air, and retorted, "Hey, you're creepin' me out here, man! You were just quoting scripture and prying and now you're lusting after me?" I felt his actions were inappropriate considering the situation.
At that point I totally offended this man. He said to me, "How dare you accuse me of lust. I asked him, "What would you call it?" He turned his back and walked away. He never turned back and I said to him, "Gee thanks, for the ending to my story, Mr. Christian man!"
As I have said, life can sure be a color ride, can't it? I don't think this story has quite the same ending Mr. Christian man initially had in mind.
Here's where the story takes a turn. After my accepting his gift, he wanted to 'pray' with me. All right; I'd had a challenging weekend. We can't have enough prayers, right? Or not. People like to hold hands when they pray; I'm fine with that. However, he put our hands kind of close to his belt buckle (it also has religious significance). I tried to ignore his action, although I felt a bit strange about it. Shortly after he prayed with me, he made a couple unusual remarks, creating a few red flags.
The first one, "I've been giving away these crosses for a long time, and I'm still a single man." Ok, RED FLAG #2 ... then, stepped closer, rubber my upper arm and said to me, "You have such soft skin," with a seductive look in his eyes. At that point, I stepped back away from him, put my hands in the air, and retorted, "Hey, you're creepin' me out here, man! You were just quoting scripture and prying and now you're lusting after me?" I felt his actions were inappropriate considering the situation.
At that point I totally offended this man. He said to me, "How dare you accuse me of lust. I asked him, "What would you call it?" He turned his back and walked away. He never turned back and I said to him, "Gee thanks, for the ending to my story, Mr. Christian man!"
As I have said, life can sure be a color ride, can't it? I don't think this story has quite the same ending Mr. Christian man initially had in mind.
