This story I have shared over the years, so it might be a repeat for some. At the time I was working for Jenny's and Company, a property management company in Eugene in the Fall of 1995 to make ends meet after leaving the Forest Service in the March of 1995.
It was the
week before Christmas of 1995 as a co-worker and I were cleaning up a parking
garage under an apartment building in Eugene.
There were three homeless men taking shelter there from the cold damp
weather next to the dumpster and under the influence of some Christmas
cheer. It was customary for me to wear
old work clothes for this job and there were days when I did not shave, this
was one of those days. As I approached
the dumpster to empty a bucket of trash, one of the men informed me there was
nothing of any value there since they had already looked. Another man, with a quart of beer in his
hand asked me where I was spending my nights since the mission was full. Before I could answer, he offered me some
refreshment and said I was welcome to spend nights in a storm drain where they
stayed. I tried to inform them that I was going south
in a few days to be with family for the holidays. Not really hearing me, one of them said it
was not a good time of year to ride the freight trains because of the danger
associated with cold weather. With
that, I thanked them for their advice and wished them well. They wished me peace and warmth in my
travels.
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