Rrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrrrrrrring.
5:30 AM came too early for me Saturday morning and when I heard the ring of my cell phone alarm, I immediately hit snooze and folded my legs back into a fetal position to resume sleep. I knew I needed to be in Tarrant city by 6:45 am, and at East Lake Park by 7 am to man the booth at the annual fishing derby. Somehow the tug of the bed kept me captive for at least 30 more minutes and after fighting my sleep induced sluggishness, I made my way to the restroom to get ready for the day.
A. The Fishing Derby 7:45 AM-1:15 PM
I picked up T-Man from his mom’s house (a kid God brought to me to mentor) and we made our way to Eastlake park where my brother was awaiting our arrival. Parking on the north side of the park, we had to walk around to the other side to the tent where the Museum of Art table was set up. Our task this morning was to help kids make Japanese fish prints, called Gyutaku (gee- you- ta- ku).
Gyutaku is a traditional form of Japanese fish printing, dating from the mid 1800s fishermen used to record their catches (‘cause their homeboys didn’t believe the stories they told when they got back to the village”). In order to make a gyotaku print, one places the subject (e.g. fish, crab, scallop shell- whatever you want to make a print of—we had rubber fish replicas) on a wooden bench and paints one side with sumi ink (or paint or whatever you got there. One lady said she used chocolate one time…I don’t know about that). Then they used rice paper and laid it over the painted side, pressing gently over the fish to make a print. Cool art for kids out at a fishing event.
COLLEGE STUDENT TIP: The cool thing about volunteering is that you usually get free stuff at some point during your time. Free food is always great! And sometimes they let you get TWO PLATES when there’s enough!
After making fish prints with the kids, I had a chance to sit around on the pier and watch an eager young man (5 years old) get excited about chicken livers and his worms. He picked up the fishing rod and reeled in his hook and the hook with the worm still wrapped tightly around it almost smacked me in the lips for a kiss. Hahahaha! After lounging for a while soaking up sunlight, we decided to depart
B. Sam Jones & the Long Road Home 1:20-3:10 PM
On the way to take T-Man home, during our discussion about college and business school majors, and football schedules, we came across a limping young man on a back road. It was hot, he looked like he was struggling to get wherever he was going, and it was at least another mile or two before the next residential area. Being the person I am, I stopped and asked him if he wanted a ride and he hopped in and said he was going up the road.
Looking in my rearview window, I asked him his name and took in his appearance. He was cleanly dressed, fresh hair cut, but due to a childhood accident, had a wondering eye, a serious limp and a handicapped arm. Once we reached the residential area, I asked him where to turn. He told me. Then I’d ask him again. He told me. This back and forth went on for about 5 minutes until we were smack in the middle of the neighborhood. By this time, I’m expecting him to tell me which house he was going to, but when I asked him where he was going, there was silence and blank stare. At that point I got nervous. He didn’t know where he was, he didn’t know his home phone number or address, and wasn’t communicating well. Seems like he came back around and wanted to go to a part of town not too far from where we were. So thinking he knew now where he was going, we went on.
After two more unsuccessful attempts to get him where we were going, we ended up in Druid Hills, near downtown Birmingham, a far cry from where we had started.
At this point I’m very concerned and frustrated. He couldn’t communicate to me anything that would help me get him to where he needed to go, he didn’t have any id, and had no clue where he was. After a few more attempts to jog his memory, I decided the best place to take him was the Police Department to see if they could help. We headed to the downtown precinct (if you ever in an emergency or need help, don’t go there! Slow as molasses!) After about 30 minutes of waiting for someone to help, a unit with male and female partners came and begins inquiring. The female was more empathetic, the male acted as if we were bothering him and hated he was called for this particular situation. You could tell by his constant leaving to take care of other things (one of which included a cell phone battery going dead) while he was supposed to be trying to help us. Eventually, I had to leave Sam Jones in their care. They took down my information.
As me and T-Man left, I agonized over leaving him and prayed that someone would report him missing and come looking for him. Needless to say, the tension level in my body had peaked and I had a pounding migraine getting into my vehicle. On the way home, we discussed the likelihood that he would get home that night, what we had learned, and what we might have taken from that situation. Before T-Man got out of the vehicle, he turned to me and said "I'll never forget Sam Jones." "Me either," I replied.
C. Bowling Fun 3:35 - 5:45 PM
Needless to say, by the time I got home, all I wanted to do was shower and lay down. Unfortunately, my youth had a pre-scheduled event at the bowling alley that I just could not miss. So I showered and changed, took some Advil, and made my way to Lightning Strikes.
There’s something about kids that can lighten burdens. Their laughs and silly banter with one another (that call also get on your nerves) is therapeutic. Once I got to the bowling alley, I was visible wiped out, evident in the parents inquiries about me and how I was doing. After settling in, the stress from my Sam Jones encounter slowly melted away. We bowled, slurped slushees, cheered for one another, laughed, at French fries, and had a great time. I hate I didn’t have my camera with me to capture the good times. It was just what I needed to wind down. Afterward, I went up to the counter to pay for the shoes for my nieces and nephews and the game for all the kids. The cashier rang up the shoes. They came up to 8 dollars and some change. Then I asked him to ring up the games from my lane. He said there was no balance open. I asked him to recheck, because I hadn’t prepaid for the games. He checked again, no balance. So I assumed someone else in our group had paid it, said bless the lord, and left. How great is that?
If you think I went home after that and went to sleep… I got picked up by my girlfriend and went out for ice cream.
I know, I know… don’t worry. By 10 o’ clock, she was talking and I was falling asleep on her… What a day!
"There is a way, no matter what they say..."
Mos Def
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