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Across the Fence:  I don't know what possessed me...  |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 12:04:51 PM
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And believe me, my friends and family have given me numerous tongue lashings about this. But I'd do it again. I don't usually work on Fridays. But this past Friday, I decided to go in and finish some work before the beginning of the new semester. I was just driving on, listening to Levon Helm's new CD "Dirt Farmer" and had come to a red light at a big intersection. Suddenly, I was aware of someone at the bus stop on the corner knocking on the passenger side window. She was talking, but the only thing I heard was "Broadway". Well, I work at first and Broadway, so I figured she missed her bus and needed a ride. So I reached over and unlocked the door and told her to get in. She was maybe 25 and looked tired and stressed. She said she'd been there a while and the bus did not come at all. I asked where she worked and she told me 'Firestone'. Then she said that was a lie, that her mom worked at Firestone and she needed to get to JDAC(drug rehab and counseling). As we rode along, we talked. She told me that she had a masters degree in English from Coastal Carolina college and that she had scored highest in the state on an entrance test. Somewhere along the way, she had married a man who was an alcoholic and drug user. And now she's trying to get sober. She has a seven year old son. She looked drawn and so weary. She even tried to give me her bus fare for taking her downtown. I dropped her off at Firestone so she could get some money from her mom(JDAC charges a few dollars for each appointement.). I told her where I work(two blocks away) and gave her my name in case she ever just needs to talk. She's been on my mind ever since. She's just so lost. I hope she finds her way back.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 12:15:05 PM
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I can totally understand why you stopped, Janice. I probably would have, too. My friend, Otis Gibbs, has a song called Angels, and the line in it is just about your post: "Sometimes angels lose wings, and end up strung out and high", and the song proceeds to remind us of who these people WERE and can BECOME not who they are now.
I wouldn't expect any less of you, girl!
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 12:21:03 PM
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Janice,
What a nice thing for you to do. Crazy but nice. There should be a lot more crazy people out there. Reaching out to others and making a differnce in their view of other people and that there are some out there that care enough to help is just plain up lifting.
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 12:24:55 PM
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She really was frantic. If you don't get to JDAC at your appointment time, you're just out of luck. I'm sure she needed whatever it is that drug addicts get(can't remember the name of it). At one point, she said that when she was frantically tapping on my window, she was saying: "Honest, I'm not a hobo". I told her I never heard anything she said after "Broadway" and my hippie, 70's voice said "Yeah, Broadway; I can do that! "
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 12:38:41 PM
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methodone. Not that I am an addict, I just watch too much Homicide: Life on the Streets.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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junkjunkie
True Blue Farmgirl
1306 Posts
Judy
Lawrenceville
NJ
USA
1306 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 1:30:04 PM
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Janice, That was very sweet of you and that girl was very lucky to have you to help her out....BUT.....unfortunately, in today's world you have to be extra cautious! Yes, I do believe that there are guardians angels in the world, and you are one of them, but please be careful.
"To have life in focus, we must have death in our field of vision." Benedictine monk John Main |
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downbranchroad
True Blue Farmgirl
374 Posts
Joy
Southern
KY
USA
374 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 3:20:11 PM
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Janice, my daughter done something one time that reminded me of this. She passed a man holding a sign begging for food. She said the man was not clean and had such a "lost" look in his eyes (he also had a dog with him)he really tugged at her heart. She went on down the road and stopped and got him some food and also bought a couple cans of dog food for his dog. (she is in Vet school and will be Dr. Ange in 17 more days if that tells you anything about her love for animals)She took it back and she said he was so thankful and cried.
I did caution her, even fussed at her a little but then I thought...that is how I had taught my child...to have compassion and love for mankind. What else could I say to her? I just thanked God she was safe and had a loving heart for mankind and beast.
She has never seen the man again.
That was a few years ago and she still thinks about him and sends up prayers.
Appalachian Girl
Jem
*If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got.
My new blog!
http://downbranchroad.blogspot.com |
Edited by - downbranchroad on Jan 06 2008 3:22:58 PM |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 10:57:48 PM
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Janice, that was incredibly selfless and crazy! Be very careful and please, please don't let her know where you live. What I see of these poor tortured souls at work (courthouse) makes me extremely nervous for you. They want to get clean and be normal again but those drugs are extremely powerful motivators to make them err. These folks are very unpredictable and unfortunately, can not be trusted.
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
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bohemiangel
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Bridget
Ligonier
pa
USA
2087 Posts |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 11:41:57 AM
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Jonni - I just remembered her name and I thought about your friends song lyric and cold chills ran down my back - it was ANGELINE!
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 12:37:39 PM
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Oh my gosh! I have to send you that cd now. Aside from the fact that you'll love Otis anyway! I'm going to burn it right when I get home. Think the Truck Drivin' Woodie Guthrie, a truer person I've never met, well, besides you, but we've not really met 
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Across the Fence: I don't know what possessed me... |
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I don't know what possessed me...
