OUT OF THE DARKNESS

Out of the darkness come two dirty faced young women. The day had been in the 80’s or low 90’s but the intensity of the sun made it hotter than the hubs of hell.

We are encamped in Southern Colorado headed home from a distant Art and Craft Fair. We’ve only been on the road three weeks but in that time we cover quite a bit of territory.

Tonight we are finishing supper in our RV in a Walmart parking lot. We choose to stay here because its free and we don’t need electrical hookups or water, we are self contained and will leave at day break.

Our next door neighbor is an eighteen wheeler who is also spending the night. Most often we sidle up to big rig drivers in truck stops when we have driven too far into the night.

This Walmart neighborhood seemed as though it was on the wrong side of the tracks. Normally there are a few fancy RV’s scattered throughout the parking lot, here it was not the case.

An assortment of eight RV’s that were quite vintage (but not in vintage condition) are in our view. Additional tires are stored underneath one of the RV’s, another without a tire on the rim.

It indicates that they are here for the long term. We realize there are others sleeping in their cars. The cars are not particularly old and worn out like the RV’s.

Three RV’s have electricity and one even has a television. It is a bigger community/city…..they all blend into the landscape.

The cafe and coffee shop society drives past thinking they must be lower income vacationers.

They are most definitely not on vacation , we are sharing the same moment in time from far different circumstances.

These are people with no place to go. These are the people that our society wants to disappear.

I visit with some of them, they have sold their last possession (their home) and are trying to live the “good life” like many others they see traveling down the highways of this nation.

Their resource is minimal and they are at the end of their financial rope. They have found Walmart to be their current salvation while they are trying to figure out the next step in their lives.  Their RV’s mask their desperation.

The shadows grow long and the sun seems to set quickly and in a moment darkness is all around us. A parking lot light serves as our beacon for the night.

The women were in their late teens maybe early twenties and we could see them approaching from perhaps thirty yards. By their demeanor I could sense they were apprehensive in their approach.

They both had backpacks and sleeping bags, both look well traveled and exhausted. They had hiked up from the Bosque where there was the river and train tracks a half mile in the distance.

They did not ask for money and they used caution not to enter our zone of safety.

They stood back the appropriate distance and then they asked if we might have any food to spare. We shared some food and some of our resource.

They seemed overcome by such simple generosity and their gratitude was more than sufficient for our repayment.

We realized and could tell that when they left …. they were looking and hoping for a miracle.

In simple insignificant generosity they had found it.

We were tired and had traveled a great distance (in air conditioning) They too had traveled a great distance from Texas and perhaps far beyond, I suspect from the interior of Mexico.

Their ride was probably caught on a train that had slowed at a road crossing somewhere south of here.

Our conversation ended, they cast a simple nod and smile of appreciation, they had a long way to go….and a Hell Hound was on their trail.
www.billkeitel.com.

Credits to Steve Artley for his insights-artwork/cartoon the cartoon was not to denigrate in any way our military men and women.