1. One of my facebook friends helped another in need today. I wanted to share this beautiful uplifting story. Thank
you Jason!
It was a good day...It has been said that we are not immune to homeless in our town. My 5th graders have been
telling me a man lives under a bridge on our rural highway. Here is the story...Last year I saw this guy walking on
our highway. It is only two lanes and not divided. Looks like a rural road but is a state highway. Well, I had never
seen him so I pulled up and said hello and asked if he needed a ride. He had a beard mustache ballcap on and
just didn't look right being here. He said to me that he walks all over the place and he used to be 300 pounds and
is now 170. I told him that was good and just had a conversation on the side of the road. I didn't even bother to
run him because I just got that feeling that he didn't give me a reason to think othe rwise. Well, at the Halloween
parade at the school the other day one of my fifth grade students who asked to speak to me. I asked him what
the matter was and he said that he heard there is a man living under the bridge on 106. I told the boy I would
check on it. Yesterday, actually this morning when I was driving home in my cruiser, I decided to check under the
bridge. It is a pretty tall one and could drive up close to under it. I got out and looked up to where the pavement
would be and there was a bundled up mass on a ledge. I looked at the temp and it was 20 degrees..So I went
there somewhere around 1300 and saw that he was not there. He had all sorts of canned food around and one
blanket and a pillow. I left my business card on the pillow and left. I patrolled around and then saw him walking
down the little road from the highway at our major intersection to under the bridge. I stopped and said, Mr. ***,
how you doing. He said good. I then said tell me your story, He said what do you mean, tell you my story. Of
course all cops say what’s the story. I said, no, tell me YOUR story. I want to hear about you. How did you get
here, where do you come from. He said, my story is....I was engaged to a woman in 1988. He is 44 now. I come
from Maine up by Bangor, 4 hours away. My fiance was walking along a road a month before we were to get
married and was hit and killed by a tractor trailer. He said after that, he lost it and was never really quite right. He
tried to get in the Marines to be a cook which is what he loves to do. He had flat feet so they would not let him in.
He went from job to job, staying at a lot and learning a lot. His father was an electrician so he learned a lot of that
trade. Fast forward to now. His sister lives down here next town over. She and her husband were losing their
house so he offered to come down and help them out by doing things to try to save the house. Didn't help and
they lost it. He befriended a very obese couple in my town who were the managers of a modular home park here
in town. It is quite a big one called of all names, Pine Ridge. He did all the maintenance there in exchange for a
room. I spoke to 4 people today who confirmed he was a hard worker and made the place beautiful. Well, the
man passed away . The woman got a boyfriend who did not want this man to live in the house and told him to
leave. That was last year.So...the man has been walking and no one has ever known where he has lived. Just
seen him walking and walking and walking. The man broke down and was crying to me there today which me, I
am hard as nails. But I choked up. I asked him if he wanted to work and he said yes I do very much but my
license just expired this past May and I don't have the 50 to renew it. I have no permanent address and no one
will hire me because of that.I told him to go back down to his camp and I would be in touch with him. The Pine
Ridge people said he would not ask for a thing but I told him to come to the station if he needed anything. The
station is really only 500 feet away..Well, I went up to this company about 2 miles up the road called *****. I
asked if the boss was around. He pointed me to the vice presidents son who was a regular worker there himself.
He asked me who I was there to arrest this time and I laughed. I said no one but listen to my story. I told him the
same thing I told you and he said, go get him. I will bring him back to wherever he wants to go but we have all
sorts of work and need help. I went back down to the bridge and he was just looking up at the roof of the bridge.
I told him to come with me I found him a job. He said what??? I said yes, he said he has been searching and
searching. So I brought him up there and the vice president listened to him and I left. I later saw him walking
back over the bridge. I asked him how it went and he said that he starts tomorrow at 0600. He stuck his hand in
the window and said that he can't thank me enough with tears in his eyes....This is what public service is all
about...