What About Little John? Part Eight. Ending?
A true story.
I took a walk today to see if I could find Little John. I got to the park and took a shot of the rubber tree he used to sleep under. It turns out that writing from memory has its faults. This does not seem to be a rubber tree. More on what happed today... but first...
I am going to finish this series in this post as planned. Thank you for your comments and suggestions. Please stay with me on this one because I will use your advice one way or another.
The first photo taken at the park
Little John is just one of many that I chose to meet, talk to and get to know. John is not a young boy. He was about thirty-five, six-three and well over two hundred pounds when we met, mid-forties now.
You are all curious what happened to our friend. As it turned out, I had continued to support Little John through the summer, though less often. I went there to keep him going at, arriving at odd times because the kids were out of school. When school resumed, I saw him ever Friday and kept him going. John got his ID and manged to get some work bringing people in for several businesses in the neighborhood.
One Friday late in the school year, I got to the park and it was closed. This is a huge park! I walked the five or six blocks around it. No way to get in. They closed it in one day.
They had put up steel barriers completely encompassing the park and John was nowhere to be found. The kids and I walked along the bright yellow sheet metal walls to the bus stop and they asked, "What's going to happen to Little John?" I said, "We have to find him."
That did not happen.
Weeks went by and our friend was nowhere to be found. He is remembered only in our prayers and in the series I have written here on Steemit. Our walks home were a bit sadder without a good deed, money given, well spent. Just a walk home and not knowing if he had been arrested, relocated, or worse.
The park reopened the following year with all new sidewalks and stairs. The two benches that John used to sleep on are gone, replaced with tables and stone chairs (photo). Even if Little John were here, there would be no place to sleep when it rains.
Months later, my youngest was with me on our way home, and we saw Little John in front of an apartment building about four blocks away from the park. He was clean, no beard, with what appeared to be a cell phone in one hand.
We looked at him from the corner. He was about a block away and did not see us. I wanted to take time and find out how he was, but my oldest was in route from high school. I could not get one child and miss the other. I did not have time to make a detour that day, no time, but I started to look for him again. I had gone to that neighborhood many times while the park was closed, and every Friday since as the park reopened, continuing until my youngest graduated grade school.
I only have an image of him at the apartment building, one of many. He looked good. No more sleeping on the streets.
The planned ending.
The end.
I just got back from the park.
The above tells the end of the story as far as I knew after losing contact with John. I walked several miles to get to the park today, passing by those apartment buildings and walking up and down the avenue. I took pictures and even a video. I could not find the woman that ate with us that first supermarket day in part three, that awkward day.
I now have it on good authority that her name was Norma. I also factually know that Little John was living in an apartment with Norma all that time while I had been looking for him.
I am leaving out what / who I did find at the park. I am grieved to my core.
Did I mention that I spent hours at the park today?
Es una historia muy interesante y con un final inesperado como usted mismo dijo que sería. Que bueno que haya dejado la vida de la calle, espero que esté haciéndo las cosas bien y le esté yendo bien. Gracias por compartir esta historia con nosotros, está llena de enseñanzas.
You got a 95.93% upvote from @minnowvotes courtesy of @jesusjacr!
hi @done
I have followed the story.
If this story ends, I see that you will continue to go for walks in the park and will meet new people like Little John.
It's a point everyone should think about when we meet people like Little John.
I have a feeling everyone will soon meet the Little John. When you do, you will see what broke my heart when I met him.
There are many fate out there for various reasons and helping a person mean a lot to the person who gets that support, I mean not just giving money or food but really talking to them.
I take your words with me on the road @done
I see your heart has got something that can not be bought for money.
Thank you for posting more in this series @done.
Regarding the pondering of the perdicament regarding Little John's choices.....you gave him freedom to do with the funds as he wished which is important to any progress of the individual's motivation even if it meant those funds were funding a questionable habit, yet not the kind that would prohibit him acquiring a job.
And yet one must be able to discern when support becomes enablement.
Yes....to pull back on the frequency of visits yet not cutting ties was a wise choice....actually for both of you.
One of the parts of the story that was extremely interesting was how you navigated the acquiring of shoes for Little John without putting him in an akward situation.......so very thoughtful for you not to accompany him yet make all provision for ease of obtaining them.....and still giving him the choice to do it or not.
Options....in this experience as I see it...you were giving him options to make positive decisions in order to get out of the pit in which he found himself.....and of course as the story demonstrates these things take time.
Regarding this series piece today......the timing of the park closing and his independence seem intertwinned.....and in the end sometimes the most we can do for someone is pray. Learning to depend on God's timing, His work in the individual. There is only so much man can do....the rest is up to God. The principle is....Man's extremity is God's opportunity....leaving the matter in His hands when we have done all we can do.
Thank you for opportunity to think on these things.
Wishing you and yours all the best.
Thank you @done for this series.
Cheers!
Hi @done I Read The whole story and I confess that moves me and touches me deep inside.
I come from a country that It's really difficult to understand. Despite having an economic situation extremely backward in many respects I assure you that there are no beggars sleeping in the streets. I migrated, with my family, about three years ago to Argentina, and I was shocked to see all the people who Are In Situation of street.
My job is nearly 22 miles from where I live, so I have to take various means of public transportation to get there. One of them is the train, and it happens, that there is a woman with her two babies lying in a hallway of the Station, begging. Sometimes I've given her some money, but I feel that more than money, what she need is affection and sensibility. I realize that gradually we get used to these situations and this is not right.
It is not right to have kids sleeping on the streets with nothing to eat. It's not right for them to learn to steal and not go to school. It is not right for older people, who dedicated their entire lives to contribute to a society, to be relegated to oblivion in his adult life.
I've been on the platform a short time, and I know it will hard to progress in it, but there are people like you and many others, which have the heart and temperance to do the right things. I am very impressed the way you teached your kids about real life out there. I am sure they are now good persons. Finally you done a good thing, you recover a good man, and nobody will take off that satisfaction.
(sorry for my english, I speak spanish, LOL)
Thank you for reading my comment.
I see lifelong beggars in the streets as well. It bothers me to see parents using their children to get more pity. When you see Little John, you will know why I could not walk past him. He was the most pitiful of the pitiful though I never saw him with his hand out.
Have a nice day with friends. Hope you can find Little John
unexpected end dear friend @done. But it fills me with hope that "little" Jhon is fine.
I will join you to pray for him.
A hug, blessings.
Hola @Done de toda esta historia que he podido seguir me alegra mucho que el pequeño John lo hayas visto limpio y ya no este en la calle, esto es un buen indicio de que tu acción humanitaria dio fruto. Saludos buena historia que nos ofreciste.
Happy to hear that John now are look good and staying in to an apartment,that was the right place for John..
Thank for sharing us this story @done you realy awesome man,from 1-7 i realy inspired about you and John story..
Hope to see more..😊😊
It is unfortunate that he could not see little Jonh again, but on the other hand, I want to think that since he saw him in good condition, although he was from a distance, he managed to leave the streets and at this moment he is well, I hope that lead a good life and God let you never have to go back to the streets.
Greetings Mr. @done, his story was excellent, I really enjoy it very much.
You are forgetting that I was at the park today. How did I know he had been living with Norma? (Mystery)