My Favorite Thanksgiving! (A VERY Non-traditional Thanksgiving)

My favorite Thanksgiving

We all have favorite memories of the various holidays. Usually they revolve around tradition, or family. Years ago, I stopped trying to do the family thing, or gather at specific holidays. I got to the point that I would rather spend the holiday alone, rather than go through all the stress that the holidays usually mandate as “something that we are supposed to do.”

I have a very wonderful memory of a Thanksgiving that began as one that I would purposely NOT Participate in. As November 2001 approached, there were the usual invites to join assorted family at other family-members’ houses. I made it a rule to almost always politely decline these invitations. No matter how many times I explained why these gatherings were not a good place for me, it did not seem to matter. Every time one of these gatherings was planned, they seemed to think I would want to join-in. As the month went on, I successfully wriggled my way out of having to attend any of these.

Sometimes, the accomplishment of having succeeded in getting away from the pressure of the invite, was quite rewarding. I was quite pleased that only a week before Thanksgiving, I had managed to steer clear of every one of the bombs lobbed at me in disguise of holiday invites.

I was living in Gresham, Oregon. Thanksgiving time, for many years was not something I felt happy about because that was when I had gotten married... And Divorced. This particular Thanksgiving was the one-year anniversary of the end of my marriage. It was exactly one year prior that I had walked away, and gone to live in my van. I chose to live in my van during an ice storm in Oregon, rather than stay in that bad situation. I had applied to a couple of apartments, but at the Holiday season, none of the processes were very fast. After two-weeks living in my van in the ice, and cold, I got this apartment.

Now it was one year later. I had gotten to know many of the tenants who lived in this complex. I was happy to choose this apartment for a couple of reasons. Some of those reasons included location, cost, and ease to get into. I was aware that this was not exactly the best neighborhood, but at the same time it was not the really bad part of town. It was convenient to my work, and by comparison, it was quite nice, compared to some of the other options I had to choose from. When you are homeless, sometimes, any place you can afford is a good option. Many of my neighbors were not there by choice. It turned out that this complex was mostly state-funded housing. Those who were on state-aid, or in state-run programs did not have much choice in where they lived. They were often given two choices, and The choices were: 1- Take it. Or 2- Leave it. Most chose to take what they were given, so they could remain in the system. Needless to say, having a job, and earning an income was something most of the tenants were not doing. Most were put on state-disability, and then told they could not work, or they would lose their benefits. It was a horrible system, and a vicious cycle. The state managed to keep people down by forbidding them to actually attempt to earn an income, to possibly better their lives.

Many of my neighbors were extremely nice, caring, and wonderful people. They were poor, but they did not act like that was what defined them. I was poor, too. I was working long hours just to afford to pay the bills I was left with after my marriage. I was living in a really cheap apartment, because all my income went to the debts I was saddled with in my marriage. Similarly, I was not any different than any of the tenants on the state-run system. I had the privilege of having earned a really decent income previously, so I knew the difference. I was currently living poorer than I ever had in my past. But that did not mean I had to act in a bad way. I still upheld my quality of life. I still always helped those I could help. It did not always take money to help others. As I got to know my neighbors, I found some amazing friends. The lack of money, job, or status, never once created a single divide between those who worked, and those who did not.  The complex had 30-units, and I had gotten know many of my neighbors.

Just like any other home I have ever had, I always had an open-door policy. Everyone knew that if they needed help, needed an ear to bend, needed a safe place to escape to, needed a bite to eat, needed anything at all, they could come to me. I welcomed anyone, and they knew that as long as they were not dishonest, or disrespectful toward me, they were always welcome. If I was home, Anybody could walk-in anytime, no questions asked. When I was home, My door was always unlocked. Everyone knew God was the keeper of my house, and all who entered, also entered His house. It was never expected that they also believe, or even acknowledge God even existed. It was expected that they Knew I trusted God, and that was all that mattered. Not a single person ever did wrong to me or my home. Being able to help others has always been a cornerstone of who I am.

A few months before Thanksgiving a lady moved into the unit upstairs from me. Her name was Lori. From the moment she moved-in, she had desires to make me her boyfriend. I made it clear I was not interested in having a relationship. We became pretty good friends, and she always hoped I would give-in. This was actually kinda funny to watch how much she would work to try and impress me, to win me. I never fell for any of it. But still, she was fun, and friends was as far as I would go with her. In early November, she tried every approach she could think of to get me to join her for a traditional full thanksgiving meal in her apartment. Hers was one I politely declined. She was appalled at the company I chose to allow to enter my home, and made her views known to any who would listen. If she happened to be at my home when another showed-up, she would leave. She at first attempted to get me to have the other leave. It did not take long to teach her where I stood. The idea of helping these people was appalling to her. I often explained that I would be willing to see more of her, if she was willing to not be a heartless bitch. She understood this, but was set in her ways.

By trusting in God, and allowing those who he sent to my home to come freely, no questions asked did indeed have many wonderful rewards. Along with the rewards, there were also many times when I was suddenly in the middle of events, or situations I could have never imagined possible. It was not uncommon to wake up to find a complete stranger asleep in my hammock in the front room. I often would come out of the shower, and find someone standing there who I did not know needing a safe place to be. There were times I would wake to find someone depositing a baby next to me to be kept safe through the night. I had a guy knocking on the door one night, and was kinda bothered that someone would knock and wake me, rather than just walk-in. I opened the door, and was facing someone I did not recognize, and he handed me a gun. Turned out he lived in another complex, but had heard about me, and wanted to turn the gun over to me, so he would not harm somebody. He told me he did not walk-in, because he feared he would do wrong inside my home, and he respected who I was, and what I did too much to enter. I did not ask any questions about the gun, or who he was. I Did ask if he was alright, and if he needed anything. He said he would be alright, now, and asked that I turn the gun in to the police. The police also knew me, and knew what I stood for. I could walk into the police station with the gun, turn it over, and they would not ask further questions. I could call the police for help when someone was battling some drug-side-effect that I did not understand. Everyone knew that if I involved the police, they would not be in any kind of trouble, but would be helped by the police. The police understood my tactics. I worked to keep my neighborhood as safe as possible, and was well-known. I found people would come to me with their drugs, and ask me to flush them. They wanted someone they trusted to take care of it for them. Not all of the apartments had bathtubs. Some only had showers. It was not uncommon to have someone pop-in just to use the bathtub. Often, I would be reading in my hammock, and someone I barely knew would walk in, climb into the hammock next to me, lean against me, and instantly fall asleep. When they would wake later, I had already gotten out of the hammock, covered them in a blanket, and gone to bed. They would realize they were safe, and stay sleeping there until morning.  If people who lived together had a fight, and one left, they usually ended up at my place. When the other person had calmed-down, and was ready to play nice, they would come and find the one who fled safe at my home.

Ummm, Perhaps your todler might not

wish to view this Thanksgiving feast...

One of the most unexpected surprises that happened in that complex was Thanksgiving 2001. As Thanksgiving week arrived, I started realizing that most of the tenants did not celebrate, or even recognize Thanksgiving. They did not think they had much to be thankful for. They could not afford to do a special meal. They did not have any place they were invited to. They did not have invitations that they could choose to decline. To most of them, it was a day that only rubbed their noses in their already bad situations. Some mentioned they could go and get a food-box that was designated especially for this holiday. But they did not like being treated as a publicity-charity-case. Some were offered full turkey-dinners if they would first come and serve at the organization’s function. They felt they were being made fun of, when these wealthy functions used them as servers, just to say “look how good we are for taking these people in”.

I was kinda caught off-guard. I had a choice if I went where others were gathering. They did not. I chose to be alone, they were stuck being alone. This really tore at my heart. I wanted to do something that would show these people what they truly had, but did not understand. I had already planned to have a take-n-bake pizza from Papa Murphy’s for my own Thanksgiving. And I was going to bake my cookies. My cookies are special in their own way. Many of these people had already enjoyed the magic of my cookies. The more I thought about thanksgiving, the more I really wanted to give a Thanksgiving to the entire apartment complex. I knew without a doubt what I wanted, and needed to do. I needed to give them a Thanksgiving… JOn-Style! I would feed them pizza, cookies, pie, coffee, and brownies! I would do this in my own apartment, open-house-style. It would be open from 8 am until 8 pm. Everyone could come when it was comfortable for them. They could bring others with them, too. I needed to have enough pizza for the entire complex! But I knew I could barely afford my own pizza, let alone two, or twenty pizzas! I already had the ingredients for one batch of my cookies, but I would need to make four batches! I could not afford that. I had planned to have one Marie-Calendar’s Razzleberry pie, but I could not afford three or four. I certainly could not afford the soda pop, or coffee to feed close to a hundred people.

Then the idea hit me! I would ask for donations! Not money, but food. Just like any place that feeds people on Thanksgiving. I knew I would be able to do this! I went to the local police department to ask for contacts that could help with this. They were more than happy to help. The police already knew what I stood for, and how I loved to help. I was assigned the community-relations officer as my contact. I would go to the local vendors, and hand them the letter showing his involvement for added credibility. I then went to the apartment manager to get him involved, too! He was already well-liked, and an active part of this complex’s happenings. He also wrote a letter for me to take along. Then I went to Papa Murphy’s Pizza, and met with the manager. She was so impressed with this that she called the owner, and had him come right down to meet with us! They liked the idea so much!  Now it was my turn to be impressed! They not only agreed to donate the pizzas, they also added the soda-pop, and cheese-sticks, too!

I then went to The Fred Meyer store just down the street. Every single one of the tenants shopped at this store. I met with the grocery manager. He then had me meet with the general manager. Freddies agreed to donate the several pies, the coffee, and brownie-mixes. They suggested they would also contribute fruit, cheese, and veggie trays, chips, dips, paper plates, napkins, and cups, too! They asked if there was anything else I needed to pull this off. I was overwhelmed by their generosity, and hesitated to ask, but decided to go for it. I mentioned that I could not afford to get the ingredients to make all my cookies. They gave me a twenty-five dollar gift certificate so I could buy all of that!

I was so excited! I went back to the Police Officer, and told him all the good news. He just smiled, and then said “I know. They called to tell me how excited they were to be able to help their neighbors, and absolutely love your spirit!” He said there would be more surprises to come, but would not elaborate.

I then went to visit the manager. I used his computer to create a flyer to hand out to every tenant. We printed one copy from his printer. He then took them to the property-management company’s office to print up a hundred-copies in assorted colors.

I handed out the copies to every tenant, and also left a second copy for them to give to someone else they knew who could use a blessing. The flyers made it clear that it was totally-free, no-obligation, no-strings-attached. It was a come-as-you-are celebration. All ages were welcome. Even their relatives were welcome. We also made it clear that this was not in any way connected to the owners, or property management of the complex. We made it clear that this was just what I wanted to give them. The flyers also gave special thanks to Papa Murphy’s, and Fred Meyers.  The flyers listed all the food and beverages that would be served. The flyers made it clear that it did not matter if I knew them, or not. Everyone was welcome, and I f I did not already know them, I would soon. It was made clear that all they needed to do was show-up. It was not even mandatory to be sociable.

I took some flyers to Papa Murphy’s, and to Freddies, and made arrangements to pick up all the food Wednesday evening.  Then I dropped some flyers off at the police department. 

When I got home Tuesday evening, I was greeted by Lori, the love-struck-neighbor upstairs. Lori had a copy of my flyer in her hand, and was insisting this would never work. I had already learned to ignore her ideas of what she insisted could not work. Then she shoved another flyer into my hands. This one was advertising her own traditional turkey dinner that she would make available to any and all on Thanksgiving Day. Her flyer stated that “If you do not want to settle for pizza, come upstairs to get a Real Thanksgiving meal.” This gave me quite a laugh. She got upset with me for laughing, but then asked me to explain why I found it funny, and why I disagreed with her. I explained about how I have connected with everyone here, I understand them. I KNOW the traditional Turkey Dinner is a Sore subject for them, just like it is for myself. Pizza is casual. Pizza is celebratory. Pizza crosses every social divide. Pizza is a stand-and-eat food. Pizza is happy. Pizza is finger food. Pizza makes everyone happy.

I encouraged her to go ahead and hand out her own flyers, but to change the wording, so it sounds inviting, and welcoming. And advised her to embrace my offering to the masses, rather than try and make it sound second-rate, or she would quickly have a lot of this complex against her. I explained that she already looked down her nose at most of them, and with that approach, even if they were starving, they likely would not go to her home, just like how they won’t go to the churches, etc.

She understood this. I finally got that point across to her. She came downstairs later with a new flyer, and asked if I would help her hand them out, and introduce her as we went to each door. I was very happy to join her now. We handed out her flyers. Almost everyone greeted me with a hug when they opened their door, said they were happy to finally meet her, but would be having pizza. Many of them asked if she would come and join them for pizza. This surprised her. They politely declined her invite, but then turned and asked her to come and join them for the pizza. By the time we finished the whole complex, she had learned quite a bit about these people, and my approach. A few people said they would have both meals.

Wednesday night, I went and gathered all the pizzas, food, beverages, plates, etc. I had already arranged with the manager to bring an empty fridge over to my apartment that evening, so I could store it all. We put the spare fridge in my bedroom, and loaded it to the gills!

I went to bed early that night, so I could be up early to do all my baking, and get everything set-up.  I got up at 4 in the morning Thanksgiving Day. When I went out to the front room, there were two young ladies asleep on my living room floor. I could not see their faces, so I was not sure who they were, but I was used to this sort of thing happening, so I just left them asleep.

I made coffee, then went to shower. While I was showering, they each came in, used the toilet, and left. They did not say anything, and looked like they had each had a hard night, and were struggling to function. I had seen each of them around the neighborhood previously, but did not know who they were. When I was done with the shower, and came out, they were gone. They had each left a duffel bag in the corner, and there was a note for me. It said “Thank You! We will be back to eat later.” This was something that had become normal in my life, and it made me smile.

I put on some good music, and got started with my baking. (Cookie Dough makes a wonderful breakfast!) I had mentioned in the Flyer that the open house would begin at 8. But everyone always knew my door was always open. People started coming by just after 6. They helped themselves to fruit, veggies, dips, cookies, and coffee.

My Famous Cookies!

My Mom was heading from Portland to Bend to spend the day with her mom (My Gramma). My Mom stopped by in the early morning on her way out of town to get some of my fresh-baked cookies for the road. (She knew they made a wonderful breakfast, too!) She took several in baggies for later enjoyment, and sharing with Gramma.

Just before 8, I put the first pizza in the oven. Lori from upstairs came down to get some items she needed to finish preparing her traditional meal. Right at 8, the first one to walk through the front door was the Community Service Police Officer. He helped himself to coffee, and cookies. Then a couple of minutes later, the two young ladies who had slept here last night came in. When they saw the officer, they each hugged him, then looked at me and smiled. He was grinning. Then he said, “You are wonderful, Jon!” He then introduced the two girls, and told me a little of their story. He had brought them to my place during the night, so they would be safe. They were 17-year old young ladies, homeless, and tended to settle for anything that would take them off the streets for a night. He had a long history with them, and happened to see them climbing into a car of people last night that he knew would lead them to drugs, and they would be harmed before the night was done. He stopped the car, and came up with reasons the two girls could not go with them. The girls were then taken to my place. He told them the rules, and told them if they stayed and did not go wandering during the night, he would help them get off the streets. I offered them food. They were eager to accept. They seemed like they had not had a safe environment for quite some time. Their clothes were not real clean, and looked like they had been worn for many days. Their hair was matted, and messy. I asked them a few questions, to learn how to best help them.

I called the manager, and asked him to come over. The officer already knew him too. When the manager arrived, I introduced the girls, and asked if he could pull some quarters out of the laundry machines. He grinned, understanding where I was headed with this. He left, and went toward the laundry room. The officer looked quizzically at me. I just smiled. I asked the girls if they would object to having a hot shower, and clean clothes. The officer was still looking like he was confused. The girls’ eyes lit up! I pulled some sweats and sweatshirts out of the closet for them to put on.

They emptied out the dirty clothes from their duffel bags, stripped, and put on the sweats I had offered.  The manager returned with a handful of quarters. Then the officer realized what we were up to. One girl headed to the shower, and the other one helped us gather their clothes. I got my laundry basket, and soap. While one went to shower, the other went with me to wash the clothes. The officer stayed with the manager. When we returned, other people had started showing up. I put more pizza in the oven, and everyone was happily talking. The girl disappeared into the bathroom with her friend. While the second one was showering, I transferred their clothes to the dryer.

When I returned from the laundry room, The owner of the Papa Murphy’s had arrived. The Officer, and Manager both already knew him, so they were all chatting. Lori from upstairs had also come down, and joined in all the excitement. When the two girls emerged from the bathroom, they were greeted by many people all talking excitedly at the same time. The girls looked a bit overwhelmed. As all this was happening, many people were coming and going, and my apartment very busy and slightly chaotic. Lori offered to take the girls upstairs where it was a little less crowded, and they could relax without all the commotion. This shocked both the manager, and myself, because we both knew how Lori looked down on people such as these girls. They went upstairs. Among all that was going-on, The Owner of The Papa Murphy’s was handing out coupons to each person for a free pizza. They were truly free, nothing needed to be purchased, just a free pizza. He explained how impressed he was with how much I wanted to give these people the best thanksgiving they had ever had, and wanted to make it even better.

After a while, many had come and gone, and said they would come back throughout the day. The officer was happy to meet every one of them. Not a single one of them flinched when they saw the officer in my apartment, because they knew my relationship with them was a good thing. They also were able to see that they could relax, and even enjoy being around an officer. Many asked his advice “off the record”, and he was very willing to help them.

When the girls’ clothes were done drying I brought them back, folded them into piles for them to sort, and put away as they saw fit. The girls came back down for more pizza, and soda. They beamed with enthusiasm about what was happening. The officer pulled them aside and spoke quietly with them. When the girls disappeared into the back to put their own clothes back on, the Officer, Manager, and Papa Murphy’s owner disappeared upstairs to Lori’s apartment. When the girls came back out, they asked me about Lori. I was not sure what exactly they were asking, so I asked for more clarification. They were excited, but looked a little unsure. Then the Officer came back down and asked to talk to me alone. It turned out that Lori had offered the girls a place to stay in her apartment. He did not know Lori, or her intentions, so wanted my opinion. I was shocked! Had Lori’s hardened shell been cracked? The officer told me how the girls needed a safe place where they would be treated with respect, and not made to feel inadequate. I knew Lori well enough that I knew she could be a loving caring sweet person when she wanted to. I also knew Lori was safe. The Manager, and Papa Murphy’s owner were still upstairs. The officer liked what I said about Lori, then grinned. He had the girls go back upstairs with him.

As the day went on, there was good fun, good cheer, good food, and plenty of things for everyone to find to be thankful for. When everyone finally came back downstairs, the two girls did not. Lori smiled, gave me a hug, and thanked me for opening her eyes. The Officer shook my hand, and thanked me, then left. The Papa Murphy’s owner handed me a stack of the coupons to hand out, and told me to make sure every one of them was given away. He shook my hand, thanked me and left. The Manager ate some more, and said he would be back later. When it was calm, I asked Lori what was up? She just grinned, and said she would let the girls tell me. So I asked where they were. She said “Asleep upstairs.” Then she hugged me again and left.

Lori was spending time with many of the tenants in my apartment, and enjoying their company. She was beaming, and I really wondered what she was up to. The girls came downstairs after their nap, and were hungry again. Lori asked if they would like some turkey, because it was about to come out of the oven. One girl wanted the turkey. The other wanted pizza. Some of the people in my apartment decided to go have turkey. So, Lori took many upstairs to serve her traditional meal.

The girl that stayed downstairs looked like she wanted something to occupy her mind. I showed her the bookshelves. Her eyes lit-up. She found a book and snuggled into the hammock.

After about an hour, all the people that had gone upstairs came waddling back down. Lori was happy, and had learned how to connect with her neighbors. The other girl joined her friend in the hammock, and they shared the book.

Later in the afternoon, The officer returned, and behind him was The Papa Murphy’s Owner, along with the Papa Murphy’s Manager. She had not yet come to join the festivities. She was introduced all around. She helped herself to a slice of pizza. A little while later the General Manager, and Grocery Manager from Freddies showed up. The Officer was beaming as he introduced them all around. I was surprised! I never imagined these folks who donated so generously would come and visit me! Everyone was enjoying this Thanksgiving, and they all wanted to make sure I understood how proud they were of it.

The two girls were introduced, then the Officer asked Lori if they could all meet upstairs. So Lori, the two girls, The Officer, Both Papa Murphy’s people, and both Freddies people went upstairs.

When they came down again, they all stopped in to thank me again, and left. The General Manager of the Freddies gave me another twenty-five dollar gift certificate. He said this was for my own use, and his way to thank me.

The girls came back down later. They ate some more, and looked like completely different people than they did at 4 this morning! They looked safe, comfortable, and alive again. I was dying to know what was going on with all the meetings, but would wait until they decided to tell me. As Evening came, many of the early arrivers came back for more. Some of the people who had been peeking out their windows all day at all the activity finally ventured on over. I baked cookies, pies, brownies and pizzas all day long. This was The Absolute best Thanksgiving!

Finally, as late evening rolled around, I made sure to send large amounts of food home with each person so I would not have tons of leftovers. I always manage to make the kitchen a complete disaster when I am baking. Usually, I clean it all up before the last cookie comes out of the oven. But this day, it was still a disaster, because I had gone non-stop all day. I had been going solid for 16-hours. The two girls offered to clean it all up, and suggested I relax in the hammock for a bit. They were sincere, and looked like they had waited all day to be able to give back after having been given so much today. I usually do not let others clean up for me, but this time I agreed, but made them promise they would tell me what everyone was so excited about involving them. They agreed, but said I needed to rest, and they would tell me later.

Almost as soon as I lay in the hammock, I was out-cold! I did not hear another sound, until my alarm clock went off the next morning. I was disoriented. I was in my hammock, with a blanket over me, but my alarm clock was in my room by my bed. Once I stumbled around and shut it off, I went back to the kitchen to make my coffee. Then I realized what I had missed. As my coffee was brewing, I turned on a light. The house was spotless! The kitchen was cleaned, the trash was taken out, the food was all put away. Everything in the entire house was as if there had not been a huge party here yesterday. I could not believe it! Nobody ever got my place as clean as I would, but it was spotless! I knew there would be one place that had been missed. The toilet. It is one of my pet peeves, and I cannot stand when others make a mess in my bathroom. But for yesterday, I ignored it, and allowed everyone to use it. The last time I saw it, it was a complete disgusting mess. But it was actually clean! The girls even cleaned up the bathroom last night! Now that I was thoroughly shocked at how clean those two girls made everything, I realized they never told me what was going on. They were not here, and the duffel bags were gone.

I was kinda confused, but had to get ready for work. I showered, and cleared my head trying to grasp what happened upstairs, and still in awe of how much the girls cleaned when they insisted I rest.  They even put a blanket on me, and turned out the lights before they left! As the hot water did its thing, I began to reflect on what a wonderful day it had been. I left for work happier than I could recall in many years. All day I wondered about the girls, and what happened. Then I finally remembered that I was told Lori had offered them a place to stay.

When I came home from work, Lori’s lights were on. I went into my home, and showered, figuring I would go upstairs afterwards. Before I got out of the shower, Lori, and the two girls were in my apartment and trying to get me to hurry up so they could tell me everything. Lori would never go where she might see anybody naked, but the girls had already figured me out, and were very comfortable around me.

The girls did not care that I was in the shower, they piled into the bathroom, and were both talking at the same time, and were so excited. They both continued to tell of what happened simultaneously, and kept saying how I changed their lives, and how they would always be sure to tell everyone about how important Thanksgiving is! I was the only one not clued-into what was happening all day yesterday. But, now they were spilling it all out faster than should be possible. I heard it from both of them, both talking really fast, and excited, and at the same time. The echo in the bathroom, and the running water made it even more hilarious. It was kinda fun as I put the pieces together. I finished showering, and went to the bedroom to get some clothes. Lori had been waiting just out of sight of where I was in the shower. When I entered the bedroom, she got all flustered and ran into the front room. The girls laughed, and only then did they connect that they had barged into a naked man’s bathroom while he was showering and not even asked if it was a problem. They stopped talking for half a second, giggled a bit, then waited until I finished putting on some clothes to continue telling all that happened.  

It turned out that Lori had offered them a place to stay. But by the end of yesterday, they would not need her place. They would stay with Lori until Monday. Monday they will enter a teen-housing program where they will be safe, and have access to resources for finishing their education. One of the girls got hired at Papa Murphy’s, and the other one got hired at Fred Meyers. They both hugged me and thanked me. I congratulated them for being in the wrong company the night before. They got the joke. Lori asked what that meant. Lori had not heard all of those details. Lori was quite used to finding strangers inside my home, and never asked how they arrived here.

The girls told the story to Lori. It was fun to listen to them tell all about how my home is perceived by the police department. They explained how they thought the officer was pulling their leg when he explained where he was taking them after he picked them up. When he parked in front of this apartment, they began to believe him. They expressed concerns about being dropped-off in a man’s dark apartment, but The Officer assured them this was not a normal man, and they would be perfectly safe. He showed them the flyer about the Thanksgiving day festivities, and they decided he made a good choice in bringing them here. He even walked them to the door, opened the door and let them in. They explained about how much trust that showed to have my door unlocked while I slept. The Officer told them to go in, lie down and go to sleep. They did exactly that. They said they slept solid until I came out and started the coffee.  They heard the shower start, and both had to pee really bad, so decided from what the officer had said, it was safe to go use the toilet while I was showering.  They also expressed how when I offered to give them clean clothes, do their laundry, and let them shower, they did not hesitate a moment to strip and get out of their filthy clothes. They both laughed as they said they could tell they embarrassed the Officer by doing that, but noticed it did not embarrass me. They also mentioned they noticed I did not even flinch when they walked in while I was showering. (I have written before about my nakedness, and openness, especially when it comes to showering. For some reason if people see me showering it never bothered me, even when I was at my “hiding everything” phase, such as I was during this event.) Lori Blushed at the mere mention of this. She made it a point to Never see a naked human, and just the thought of it embarrassed her.

The girls continued telling everything that had happened in the past day. The details they retained were incredible. While it appeared they were half-dazed and partially checked-out, they were really paying attention to every detail of everything that happened yesterday. Lori was a bit overwhelmed with all the details. I loved it! They would say some tidbit they had noticed about me, and Lori would ask how they learned that, because she had been trying to figure out everything about me for many months. This made me chuckle. Here were two scared, homeless, troubled teens and they happened to grasp more of their surroundings than Lori did. Lori looked at them with a look that said she could learn a thing or two from these ladies.

We gave each other hugs, and I offered them some pizza. This made everyone laugh. Lori actually wanted pizza! We had pizza, cookies, and pie. They went back upstairs for the night.

I could not plan to make a Thanksgiving as wonderful as this one. Everything always happens for a reason, and I just have to remember to trust God, and Let Him work through me.

I Hope Your Thanksgiving was something to be thankful for. How many things have you got to be thankful for? I have more than I could list in a lifetime!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Jon~=:-)

Even though I do not get traditional long holiday weekends, I still managed to find plenty of time this Thanksgiving weekend to get some much needed writing done. The funny part is, This year, I worked Thanksgiving Day, Then had Friday and Saturday off, then again worked on Sunday. Today is Sunday, and the end of the long weekend for most people. I wrote this one on Saturday, but did not get a chance to post it until today. I am really glad I got the chance to post it as a wrap-up to another wonderful Thanksgiving!

I have mentioned before that I write these mostly for my own benefit, but finding out that they help others, too, makes it even more rewarding! That is what I thrive on... Helping others. When I learn that having written about an important event in my life somehow touched even one other person, I know my time spent was more than worth it!

Again, I Thank you for stopping by, reading, and hopefully laughing, too! I Hope your day is blessed, and there is always an open-door when you need a safe place in life. ~=:-)