Pastor Dave Unleashed

It's always amazing to me how you can have a perfectly crappy day, then go out on the street and realize how great you've got it really.

We sigh and moan because everything isn't 'just so' but against the backdrop of being homeless, hungry, unwashed, it's not so bad. Our problems pale against the obstacles face by our friends on the street.

Last night was a little goofy. For one thing, our Board president Tim J. and I were the cooks. He opened cans of beef stew and I whipped up some garlic mashed potatoes (yummy), and we waited for the volunteer servers to show up. Waited and waited. One guy was there at the opening, and one guy walked in after we opened. So President Tim covered the line while Pastor Dave and I hit the bars; Tim would call when he was ready to go.

Dave whipped a guy at pool (ok, except for the scratch on the 8 ball) and I had a nice talk with a few Dravus Bar people (email me for name and location). It's a tough bar, lots of little activities going on. Milk Maid in the bar, as nice as always.

Just before arriving at MFQAT we got the call to get Tim. On the way back downtown we decided to have me go alone to MFQAT (I dissed them on Monday night and felt bad) and so dropped Tim and Pastor Dave off at 3rd and Bell.

At MFQAT found the bartender and 3-4 regulars waiting for me, telling me I was late (it was about 11:00 p.m. by this time). It was fun, nothing very serious, except Minor Prophet (age early 20s) revealed too much MFQAT knowledge and I said something I think he heard: "You need a different hobby!" Hope I didn't hurt his feeling, but maybe we have enough history now that he can hear it. It's a matter of prayer -- he's too young to be sitting with a bunch of geezers and isolated from sober people his age.

I'll invite him to check us out sometime.

Although J has never done it. He continues to melt away amazingly. Congrats.

Plus the Erudite One behind the bar continues to amaze me. A few words were said about Russian authors and one sentence of plot, comes up with Kafka "The Trial."

If there ever was Team Jeopardy, Bar League, I do believe that MFQAT would clean up.

I jumped off the stool remembering my companions downtown; here I found Pastor Dave praying fervently at the bar with a woman in crisis, Tim talking to a guy with a cast on his leg, the bar stools up, and final final call. Gilbert was drunk and onery. I'm done with him after his performance last week. Told me he was going to commit suicide (not serious) -- told him that would make everyone sad. Wants to know how to be happy, told him to quit drinking. But I'm not going to engage with him if I can help it. He's crude and irrational when he's drunk.

Texas Dave wants to go to Nawlins and help Katrina victims, wants me to figure it out for him, told him to call today. We shall see.

Anyway, I was happy that Pastor Dave was especially useful in being the presence of Christ tonight -- don't know what good I did, but seeing him seriously counseling someone did me a world of good. Thank you Dave!
Rick