Easter Bunny Story (Warning: My family is weird): When we were little apparently my parents put raisins in the front yard to make it look like Easter Bunny poo, and we loved it. My older brother (27 years old) is very young at heart and to this day loves telling poop jokes. It's become a big joke in my family. So for Easter I mailed my family a care package with candy and other goodies... and sent my brother a baggie containing some goodies from my bunny. The baggie had a place where you write the contents, so I of course wrote "Easter Bunny Poo." Weird, I know, but he loved it and called me all excited about getting poop as a present in the mail. My parents hire a bunch of family members to work as secretaries in our tax office during tax season. My cousin Tasha was working the day the poo arrived (Thursday), and she is a complete germaphobe. So my brother decided to put it on her desk (still in the baggie of course) and say I sent it to her. She actually got really excited about it, and decided to use it for her kids who are at that stage where they love gross things like poop and puke. They usually leave a carrot out for the EB and eat half of it. This time, they also left a trail... So my Lewis actually got to play Easter Bunny today! On an unrelated note, I had an interesting experience today. On Easter morning my church has a sunrise service at 7am at the downtown park, where homeless people often go after getting kicked out of the shelter in the morning. My church group (about 8 people) decided to get together to give them lots of fruit and bagels and juice. So we made bags and handed them out (we made 30 bags, were able to get rid of about 20, and then left 10 behind in the gazebo in the park). I went back to check the status of the bags, and 5 gentlemen were sitting in the gazebo. I said good morning to them, and they were very interested in talking to me. So I stayed for a little, they told me about themselves, how they feel about Chelsea Clinton (I think they thought I said Chelsea instead of Kelsey) and some of their hobbies. One of them likes to read, and showed me some of the books he is reading. Another said his glasses broke so he can't read anymore and joked "his arms are too short" (because he can't hold the book far enough away). After I went back to church for a while, I was on my way home, and couldn't get over the fact that he couldn't even read if he wanted to. I stopped by Dollar General, picked him up some reading glasses (only 6 dollars) and a case so they would last longer. I also got some crackers and gum for the others (I figured if they don't brush their teeth it could help keep them a little healthier). I went back to deliver my new purchases and they said "Chelsea is back!" The man who I gave the glasses to smiled and said "I can read again." The one who loves to read (who I just gave crackers too) hugged me. I had odd conflicting feelings during the whole thing. During the actual church service in the park only one homeless man was present. He sat there right next to the pastor the whole time. During part of the service the pastor talked about Jesus' suffering, and different types of suffering now in the world (e.g. cancer, homelessness, addiction). When I visited the gentlemen to check the status of the bags, the one present through the service told me that he was there, and that we were talking about him- with the cancer, homelessness and addiction, although he is "no longer an addict, but an alcoholic". It's tough to see things like this and know that I can't really do anything to help them turn their lives around, I can only help them fill their stomach. All five men at the gazebo were already drinking (it was 10am), and one was obviously very very drunk. He was the only one that was at all rude. He was very beat up, black eyes and scrapes, and apparently got in a fight with a woman the night before. The other men said they weren't letting him drink anymore for a little while, and that they had cut him off. He dropped an "F bomb" while I was there, and the other men yelled at him for cursing. Except when one yelled at him he said "don't use that g-d word" and he felt realllly bad and looked at me with wide eyes and apologized. I said it was okay, but the others said it was not. So I said, well I forgive you, and he seemed to accept that. The conflicting feelings come from the fact that if they weren't drinking they could have afforded all of the things I bought, although I do not think they should go without glasses and food because they are alcoholics. If alcoholism and mental illness were not part of the picture I would feel more able to make a change in their lives. I wish there was more I could do, but I feel pretty helpless with it all. There was that article in Runner's World about the girl who ran with the homeless people, but that is obviously impossible to do until they are sober (at least in the morning). For those of you who didn't read the article, her program was very successful, made the men feel like equals with the doctors and lawyers and other people that they were racing, and many of them sobered up and ended up getting jobs, finishing a half marathon, and improving their lives. I spoke to some people in my track club about it and they are very, very interested in starting a group like that, but I just don't think I'd have the time and resources to accomplish this during my time in Tallahassee. The man who loves reading said he reads in the gazebo every morning, so I hope to take him a new book some time soon, and maybe some breakfast every once in a while so I can use that time to hopefully provide a positive influence in his life. Don't worry, I won't go alone (I promised Jason) and I will be careful. If anyone has any ideas on how to do more I would love to hear it. I think my church group could really make a difference if we new the right way to do it.
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