Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Homeless Guy

My mom has volunteered to man the prayer chapel and its Christmas Eve. The chapel is supposed to be available all night and they just needed someone to be there. So she volunteers and I offer to keep her company. So we visit for awhile but when it becomes apparent that no one is going to show up she decides to get some sleep. So she heads to a cot in the corner and I take the couch with our dog Buttercup. Throughout the night I have noticed a homeless guy watching through the windows so I ask my mom if it’s safe to go to sleep with him out there. “Oh yeah. It’s fine. He can’t get in.” She says. So we both nod off before too long. Well soon after falling asleep I am awaken to a sound and I jump up thinking that the homeless guy got in! Soon I realize that he didn’t and my yell woke my mom. “He can’t get in Darin, go back to sleep” she says. So I do but then I dream about a boy named John who is in the hospital and I am a volunteer helping the nurses out. He’s got some kind of eye injury and so I help take care of him. But all of the sudden I am awaken by a sound again! So I again jump up and yell thinking the homeless guy is inside. But instead I notice a young couple praying in the front pew. “Oh, I’m sorry” I explain. “No problem at all” they answer. He goes on to explain that he is a doctor and just got off the 3am shift and wanted to share a Christmas Eve service with his wife since he had to work earlier. They go on to explain that their son John is in the hospital with an eye injury. “Oh don’t worry” I say. “I was there earlier and he’s doing fine.” “What?” They answer. “How could you have been? He’s in Iraq.” Just then I realize that they got in somehow and so the homeless guy must have as well! I look over at my mom and behind her in the shadows is the homeless man approaching her!!!

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