We were supposed to enjoy a 'fireworks free' 4th of July, but around 9 PM last night the explosions began. Small bangs at first and then the more powerful ones shook the night air. In the midst of a drought and with dry vegetation everywhere it makes sense to ban fireworks. As usual, some people never get the message or simply don't care...
I spent the morning at church; acting as a member of the Safety team. My job was to walk around the area outside of the church building and greet people while keeping an eye out for people who might disturb the service. I had been looking for a way to serve and since I would be able to walk and to drink coffee all while enjoying the sunshine, I thought this might be a good thing for me to do. Even with free coffee it was really outside of my comfort zone; as someone with ASD, talking to strangers is not something I do easily!
Our church is located in downtown Chico and right next to the University. Our patio is open to the street and we have coffee and water freely available. A lot of the street people use the patio for their morning coffee stop and are always welcomed. Understandably, some these people have mental illnesses in varying degrees and will sometimes act out in ways that makes some of the congregation uncomfortable. That's when we have to intervene and politely ask them to be quieter or to leave. The city has no sympathy for these people and would love to run them all out of town if they could. I don't know what the answer is but forcing them to leave the city is not!
Since it was holiday weekend we didn't have a full house and I was spared a lot of uncomfortable moments while greeting strangers. But even so, I was there for 3 services and had to walk for 4 hours. Midway through the first service I had to go to the car and get my walking stick/cane. Now I am home and sitting on my chaise, trying to relax...
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