All This Talk of Getting Old...

I love music. If you love music, you should find the following five songs and listen to them. They are incredible.

Fall For Anything -- Jeremy Fisher
The Drugs Don't Work -- the Verve
Life Is Beautiful -- Ryan Adams
Hallelujah -- Jeff Buckley
Boats and Birds -- Gregory and the Hawk

As a side note, most of you know by now that I love volunteering. If you were unaware, you now know. In any case, the place where I have chosen to volunteer is the Freeway Cafe. I received a very saddening email this week about some changes about to take place in the coffee house. Due to financial problems, my co-worker Randy will no longer be employed there. He is one of our only two paid employees. He trained me and taught me so much about Hamilton, safe biking and standing for what I believe in. Please pray for him and his family while they make this difficult transition. As well, the Freeway may be forced to close it's doors either permanently or temporarily, as I understand it. Please pray that we will see God's hand in this situation. I truly believe that He values the initiatives behind the Freeway and I know with all certainty that He will take care of us. Thanks for the prayers.

I hope all of you with outdoor jobs enjoyed the rain as much as I did today! :)

PS: Anyone know how to get rid of fruit flies?

You're Barely Scraping By.

(A line from Dashboard Confessional's song The Places You've Come To Fear the Most.)

Meet Jen.
Jen is a 70-something-year-old regular at the Freeway.
Jen has Paranoid Schizophrenia.
Jen killed her husband a while ago, before her diagnosis.
Jen has a friend who tells her to kill evil people.
Jen gave me a picture of the Freeway tonight, with 'Welcom Erica to the FRWY' written on the back.

Meet Junior.
Junior is a 39-year-old new attendee at the Freeway.
Junior has two children who are 4 and 6.
Junior is not allowed to see his children.
His ex-wife threatens to take them to Mexico if he tries to contact them.
His 6-year-old's birthday was a week ago and I've never seen someone so torn.

Meet John.
John is a 21-year-old homeless man who comes into the Freeway on Mondays.
John never orders anything but a cup of water.
John puts three pennies in the tip jar every Monday.
He has a dream to one day own a ranch where he can offer work to homeless youth.
John sleeps under the stairs at Copps Colliseum.

I wish I could fix everything.
I am learning.