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Wildness
Instead, we met Ezra. Ezra was half-seated on a ledge only a few steps down from Brickway. His neck and bald head dripped with sweat. He carried nothing more than a grocery bag with a few Styrofoam containers and a small towel he used to wipe away the sweat. As we walked toward him, he looked up and gently asked, “Hey guys. Would you be able to help me out?” We stopped to listen.
As we were walking along the 16th street mall we came across a young women with a sign that "Please help". As thats what we were hoping to do with the money I asked of she was okay and if there was anything we could do for her. Naturally she was hesitant to open up but after a little walk and some food we learned that she came out to Denver in hopes of finding a job and to bring her two daughters out here for a new start.
For a second, we could hardly believe Ray’s weathered hands had created such beautiful drawings. Primarily black pen drawings, they expressed an artistic ability very few possess. We flipped through his unfinished work in awe. Immediately we pulled out two and committed ourselves to buying them at any price. “You want that one?” Ray asked. “It’s not quite done, but I can finish it for you.”
Oliver didn’t hesitate to share some of his own selflessness. After handing him the gift card, Oliver said, “You know, this is incredibly generous of you. But I just can’t help thinking that there is probably someone out there who could use this more than me.” He didn’t immediately think of alleviating some of his family’s grocery expenses or buying school supplies, but instead Oliver suggested passing on what he so deserved to someone else.
He continued waving and smiling to car after car on the busy street in front of him. As we approached the boy, he greeted us and offered some lemonade. We looked at the two tagboard signs written (in what we assumed was his handwriting) that read, “Help Gus Get to Williamsport” and “Williamsport or Bust.”
As we floated around the soft curves and gentle hills of the western interstate, Nate pulled off at a rest stop for a quick break. Life has a weird habit of constantly putting us in the right place at the right time even if that place was never part of our plan. As Nate guided Julius into one of the only open parking spots we took notice of a man sitting on a plastic bucket with a cardboard sign that read, “Family of 4, recently laid off. The help I get, I will not take avanage off. Any kind of help will be greatly appriciated. Hopefully I will go back to work soon. Thank you. Bill.”
Nate asked for another cup of lemonade and the girls hurried to fill up his cup. As he pulled out some cash for the girls, he put forward quite a bit extra saying, “Girls, we really hope this can help out your fundraising.” Immediately, Starla’s jaw dropped. “Whoa! Ariana, look! We have to go show my mom!”
He reached out his hand and introduced himself as Richard. “Were you guys up there?” he asked gesturing to the mountains we slept in the previous evening. Shane replied, “Yeah we camped there last night.” Before Shane could even finish his sentence Richard anxiously asked, “Did you see Sasquatch?”
We both looked at the food and water we had on the table and couldn’t help but question ourselves. Whether it was guilt, curiosity, wonder, we couldn’t tell. Perhaps the best description is “eye-opening.”
An honest man. A hard-working man. Just trying to get the basics -- food and water.
Shane’s desire to go to the drive-in wasn’t based on what movie was showing; it was based on an idea he had almost a month prior while driving through Colorado. He had seen an old drive-in movie theater and thought how incredible it would be to go to a movie and buy everyone’s ticket for the movie.
As he approached the counter to his two dollar total, he made a request of the kind cashier. Shane put forward some extra and told the cashier he would like to pay for as many people’s purchases behind him as that money could. The cashier was surprised and lit up with a smile as she loved the plan!
One of those events is leaving money and a note to recognize hotel staff before checking out. Hotel housekeeping is one of the least recognized jobs despite the fact that most travelers expect to find their accommodations untouched and without a trace. We count on them each time we stay, but rarely offer forward the recognition someone working so hard deserves.
After ordering Shane pulled up to the window and handed his debit card to the cashier to pay for his meal. When she handed it back with a receipt she asked, “Would you like any extra sauces with that?” Shane smiled and said, “No, but I would like to pay for the meals for everyone behind us.”
At the checkout counter an incredibly friendly cashier asked which state we were from. “Minnesota,” we answered in unison. “Oh, I know another guy from Minnesota,” she replied. “He’s a friend of mine and owns the local board shop downtown. You guys should check it out.” Her name was Hilda, and she widened our eyes to yet another serendipitous moment for Project Wildness.
On July 24 we entered the city of looking for a barber. I (Shane) had made peace with my mustache, Tom, and was ready for a shave. No electronic shaver or dollar store razor would do – no, Tom was too strong for that now. I needed a straight razor shave.
