You never know what's up ahead. That's both the beauty and the frustration of living life out on the road as well as life lived out in it's generality.
Yesterday, while headed to the store to pick up a medley of miscellany, I ran into my good friend, Cody French, better known around the seedier precincts of town as "Frenchy." As is his custom, his countenance was extraordinarily bright, his smile wide and his demeanor embracing.
Yet, while catching up with the day to day happenings in his life he related to me black news of multiple tragedies. While riding his bike near Safeway he unexpectedly hit a bump in the parking lot and was subsequently tossed off his bike and propelled violently into the bitumenous pavement.
He sustained horrid injuries, which, it should be made known, that the making of a complete list would necessitate more time than I currently have available, but, includes the following: broken back in two places, split sternum, broken shoulder along with as I previously mentioned, a myriad of lesser afflictions and trauma.
And, if that wasn't enough, while recuperating in the hospital for a period of not less than ten days he took a phone call from family advising of his dear mother's passing!
Sometime later that week, adding insult to injury, Frenchy's long time lady friend, who, while standing beside him at his hospital bed as he was taking soup, blithely announced she was cavorting with another, which of course, necessitated the heart rendering discontinuation of their once close now irreparably ruptured relationship.
As he strung out these intolerable happenings like a sordid string of pearls he then chose to wrap up our fortuitous meeting with a resounding exclamation regarding the fact that just minutes before running into me on the street he had been summarily terminated from his six year long job as a premier pizza maker!
And, take it from me, that boy can make pizza! And, why not? He is, after all, like yours truly, from Chicago.
And yet, through this tortuous exhibition of cataclysm, Frenchy continued smiling all the more. He truly is a fount of spiritual strength! It did me a world of good to hear of his unshakeable faith in the benevolence of our loving and faithful God!
Frenchy, my boy, my hat's off to you!
In other news: Lois the 80 something widow lady I stayed with for a few weeks while hiking through the Plains on my way West called me up yesterday to see how I was doing. We had so much to catch up on! Unfortunately, because of financial concerns, the widow may be selling her two story Victorian to find something smaller with less upkeep. It seems the two story high eaves on her house are in desperate need of priming and painting and she just cannot afford to have it done.
Her dire circumstances are forcing me to evaluate options about how to get out to Paris, MO and do the necessary job for her for free. However, my schedule is tight due to the new church and my engagement to Amy P so I'm not sure what I can do...if anything.
Will talk it over with Amy P. Would need transportation there and back.
Amy and I will soon be heading down the hill to register at various retail stores in anticipation of our nuptials taking place October 29th. That should be fun...for Amy P.
I just finished up a list of character references for Amy's parents to review along with my resume. They didn't require either but I thought it would be a nice gesture. So, I will be sending same out to them post haste.
This upcoming week I will be preparing for my anticipated train excursion across the Great Plains in September to that most beautiful Illinoisan village sitting high atop the eastern banks of the great Mississippi not more than an incidental hop and a skip from Mark Twain's old home in Hannibal.
And, Amy P and I are beginning our own personal Bible study together in the Psalms and Proverbs. We both have a real passion for learning more about God and his ancient Way.
Finally, let me relate to all my Colorado peeps that much anticipation abounds here in the environs of Clear Creek and western Jefferson Counties regarding Pastor Craig Babcock's preaching from the book of The Song of Solomon. I have never had the pleasure of sitting under the teaching of this somewhat controversial love story in the Hebrew Scriptures and consequently am looking forward to it!
And, if anybody can make this even more fascinating it is Pastor Craig! He will be presenting this course of study Sunday mornings at Calvary Evergreen and Sunday evenings at our satellite church in Idaho Springs.
Pics are of Cody(Frenchy)French while telling his stories on the street and Pastor Craig Babcock of Calvary Evergreen while preaching at our satellite church assembly in the old Anglican Catholic Church located at the corner of 14th and Colorado in Idaho Springs, Colorado.
BR Schoenbein
August 20, 2016- Saturday
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