Hello, old friend.

It's funny how things work out sometimes. Not funny "ha ha," but funny "strange." We bumped into an old friend the other night, by happenstance, if you will. When we knew him years ago, he was always smiling, always laughing, and always able to make others laugh too. Not anymore. Now he hardly cracks a smile, and tears well up in his eyes if he catches himself saying something of a sensitive nature. His wife left him, which wasn't a suprise to hear because we knew there were problems the last time we saw him. He's raising a teenaged girl, by himself. Blind Willie Johnson once sang,

"Father will do the best that he can,
when momma is gone.
Father will do the best that he can,
when momma is gone.
Father will do the best that he can,
But there's so many things he just don't understand,
Motherless children have a hard time,
when mother is gone."

Now, the girl's mother didn't die, mind you. She just left, married someone else, and hasn't been heard from in quite some time. Sadly, our old friend didn't have anything kind to say about his daughter. He showed us a picture of a lovely looking girl. I commented, "hey, she's a doll," meaning to pay a compliment. He responded, "she's no doll," and I won't finish the rest of his sentence. He tells us he's not been reading his Bible or "walking with the Lord." There was something of a "rescue me" in his voice when he talked about this stuff. He says he's been abandoned, and has no Christian friends. "All the people I hang out with are non-Christians," which means that there is nothing but superficial talk and the passing of time between them. We'll be calling him and inviting him over for dinner. Hopefully we can offer something meaningful.

Later in the evening, my wife and I (oh, and little Jesse too) went out to get some hot wings, sandwiches (I had a patty-melt, and Rach had a crab-melt), and some "Ringside Fries" which are fries with bacon and red onions, smothered in melted cheese. Yummy yum yum.