The Streets of Louisville

I spent the day with a friend in Louisville today.  And it was a beautiful one!

We toured the Louisville Slugger Factory and visited Churchill Downs.  The weather was gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing some American classics.

But the things I noticed that stuck in my head the most were not the things I came to see.  Isn't that how it works?  They certainly weren't things that I was looking for, but things that just jumped out at me.

The first was this partially eaten apple.

When we walked by it I thought, "I could pick that up and eat it!"  And this thought completely surprised me.  Would I have thought twice about an apple on the sidewalk before today?

As we continued our adventure, we decided to stop for a drink at Subway.  Walking in I noticed torn pieces of the Subway bread scattered near a table for the birds to enjoy.

Someone didn't eat their fresh, warm, delicious bread.  Do you know how much I miss bread?  Yes, I could've eaten it off the ground...and been perfectly fine with it.

In fact, my friend and I considered the possibility of adding this little rule to my challenge.  If I find food left by someone else (legitimately left by someone I don't know and not planted for my benefit), I can eat it if I want to.  What do you think?  Fair enough?  I'll need some feedback before I will change my rules but this seems reasonable...not to mention humbling.

As we passed a tree planted in a cut-out of the sidewalk that was covered with a grate, it reminded me of story from my childhood.  The story began with my confession that I never appreciated all of the things my parents provided for us, including the trips they took us girls on.

At that point, I nearly stepped on this...

...a shiny dime.  I took the time to stop, pick it up, and put it in my pocket.  Then I continued my story...

I was probably 12 or 13.  We were walking down the sidewalk in Philadelphia and I noticed a man poking a stick into such a grate.  My curiosity got the best of me and I went over to see what he was poking at.  Was it a small animal?  What was so interesting to him?

As I stood beside the man looking down into the grate, I realized that he had placed a piece of gum on the end of the stick.  He was using this tool to try and pick up a dime that had fallen in the grate.

My mind was blown.  For the first time in my life, I had to face the desperation in which many people must live.

Ironic that I found a dime in the midst of telling this story?  No...not at all.

God made me mindful of many things on the streets of Louisville.