The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good

Hello everyone. Yesterday was quite an adventure for me, fraught with all sorts of experiences unique to vandwellers. I believe in ending with Good news so I am going to give you the 'un-fun' stuff first.

The Bad: Yesterday was the first real rain storm we have had in a month, which is unusual for the area, but it worked in my favor for a few weeks. Yesterday I discovered a leak in Mr. Miyagi. It isn't horrible, just inconvenient. Water leaks through at the hinge edge of my hatchback door. Right now all I can do is roll up towels underneath it and clear everything out of the back of the van. This leads me to the worst part of yesterday.

The Ugly: I chose my parking space for last night based upon the inconvenient presence of a leak in my van. I did, however, have an excellent place to park. My church has large covered driveway areas on each side of it for dropping people off in the rain. There are also external electrical plugs. I was set up there, shielded from the rain and hooked up to shore power. The night looked promising. Bible study goes on every Tuesday night at my church and I attend as often as I can. I was already hooked up there so I had no excuse not to go. As soon as bible study was finished Em and I decided to hang out inside the fellowship hall for an hour or two before leaving.

The bible study group left and we got comfortable. Three minutes later a couple of guys came back to the church and banged on the doors. Em and I went and opened it for them. They told us that a man was lurking outside the church, that he was watching through glass doors from the outside. I freaked out. I don't scare easily and I never ever panic, but for some reason this just really got to me. If they hadn't noticed him I would have gone to my van and gone to sleep and a strange man lurking around in the dark would have seen the whole thing. Em and I packed right up and left. I spent the night out at her place last night. I know I prepared myself for the dangers of living in a van, especially in an urban area, but this was the first time it was brought home to me.

The Good: Yesterday I met a remarkable young woman, her name is Misha. I was sitting in my van reading a book with my cat and the door open. She came up to me and asked if I lived in my van. At this point I kicked myself for not being more discreet. I gave her the usual run around about a long commute and needing a place to relax or sleep a few hours rather than a long drive. All true, just half truths. She introduced herself and offered her home to me. She said that if I ever needed a place to stay that my cat and I are more than welcome at her apartment for as long as we want to stay. This young woman's courage is remarkable to me. She opened her home to a complete stranger.

Reflecting back on this event earlier yesterday, I can deal with the scare of last night. Her courage and compassion remind me of my belief that humanity is mostly good. Yes, there are those who are cruel and violent, people who may hurt you if given the chance, but there are also those who will help you. Most people are not bad, just as most people are not overly generous and compassionate. I believe that everyone has goodness in them and that most of the time we can appeal to that goodness inside of ourselves and in others.

So, of course I am scared that some lurking man in the dark will see me crawl into the back of my van for the night; but I am also confident that that fear will not keep me from boldly living as I choose and meeting others like Misha.