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Homeless On One Stormy Night

Homeless On One Stormy Night


In the winter of 1984, I accepted a pastoral position in San Francisco.
The salary was not sufficient to live in the City by The Bay.  So I                       found it necessary to obtain a second job.  This relationship worked
well for two years. In the late spring of 1986, the church decided to
go in a different direction.

Losing a substantial part of my income meant that my family could
no longer live in San Francisco.  So I kept my second job and moved my 
family to Sacramento.  We only had one car which meant that a daily
commute was not an option, not to mention the cost of such a venture.
I found a room with a dear friend and spent three nights a week with him.
I was home four nights a week.  

After many months, my friend's brother needed a place to stay; so I thanked
my friend for his generosity and moved out of his home and into another friend's  50-foot boat.  In a real sense, I was houseless but not boatless.  I was alone
on a boat docked at Point Richmond across the Bay from my job.  Here, I spent
the winter 0f 1988/'89.  It was a short stay, but the memories are enduring.

There was no music, but I certainly experienced one rock and roll stormy night.
By early morning and my time to go to work, it was still dark and the power was out.  I was afraid to walk along the dark walkway for fear of being blown into the water.  So I exited the boat and crawled across the walkway, making sure to dodge all the fallen electric wires.  Thank God I survived and went to work.

My homeless experience was much longer than these few lines.  My lessons
of life learned about storms, about God's grace, and about friendships are 
enduring.  Yes.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
10252016 PS Contest, Being Homeless, The Seeker

Copyright © Curtis Johnson | Year Posted 2016

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