First, though, a story from last week, Friday. Fred Myers, my favorite store, had a mystery coupon in which one got 15, 20 or 30% off their clothing merchandise. When I went in I picked up a flier, hurriedly scratched off my mystery discount. It was 30%..WooHoo!! I went through and did my shopping. At the checkout I was busy piling items on the counter, then a small yell escaped my mouth. The clerk asked if all was well and I said, NO.
My prized coupon was GONE. Someone stole my prized 30% off coupon. I don't think she believed me, probably thought I was trying to get the best discount without the coupon. She was sort of nice and offered the 20% discount coupon she had at the counter. I agreed and saved a bit. But I am amazed that someone would actually take a coupon flier out of someone else's cart. She probably needed it more than me. Oops, sorry to be politically incorrect. Maybe, HE/SHE needed it more than me.
Monday I simply "hung out" at home. I did walk for almost an hour scoring 2.26 miles... Woo! Woo! Still working on conquering 4 miles and then on to the coveted "Forever Young" senior hikes!!
Early afternoon there was a quiet knock on my door.....visitors....Angie brought the little guy, Ozzy, who she babysits. He is 14 months and goes to school....also uses sign language to communicate "more", "thank you", "drink", etc.
Before going on my 2.24 mile walk I decided it was time to use most of the garden harvest....6 green peppers. (The rest was 3 squash). 
Debbie likes stuffed peppers so figured I would bake some and share them with her. She also prefers brown rice and that is what went in with the hamburger. They needed to bake about 2 hours before the rice was soft. I offered to bring them to her house, but she nicely texted they needed to be in Portland. ("they"...she, Keys and Jake/not "they" the peppers.) She picked them up Tuesday after work. (Grandma G has a secret she has been hiding for years. She doesn't like the green pepper part....GASP.....just tolerates them cause others like them and they are supposedly good for one.)Homeless in Vancouver.......sounds like a movie, but unfortunately isn't not. Rather, it is the raw truth here in VC and Portland. Tuesday evening I joined a small group of people who take food, clothing, blankets and toiletries to the street people in downtown VC.
The fellow heading up the group is part of a veterans organization called Point Man Ministries International. It began in the Seattle area and serves veterans suffering from PTSD. He and his wife have recently become part of our church fellowship and are involving us if we want.
Some of us joined them last month and took items to the "tent city". Numerous people came and quickly accessed all that we had. This time, however, it was more difficult.
Since October the city officials decided against the tent city and forced people to disperse into small areas throughout the city. They are allowed to "camp" in certain areas from 9 PM to 6:30 AM and then they need to be gone. Consequently most of these folks are now in hiding.
Tuesday evening we set up in a parking lot. The "mayor" of the street people had let it be known earlier in the day that we would be there. Only a few people came. At one point the head guy said he was going to take plastic bags of food and walk around town. I went along with 2 others.
And walk we did....in the dark and chill. (I wished I had my "stepmeter" with me. Probably went 3-4 miles.) We came across a few people. Some of them knew Paul. One fellow was noticeably very sick, huddled up on the sidewalk. Somehow he had gotten here from a southeastern state. Another crippled man sat on a sidewalk, reading. Someone had stolen his walker, so he couldn't go anywhere. We walked close to the I-5 highway where a few tents were hidden in the trees. People came out and accepted the bags of food.
We were downtown about 2 hours. There was discussion among the group and the mayor about a possible building to access for a hot meal, etc.
This is a completely new experience for me. I feel safe being with an organized group. I do believe this will become part of my life out here. Don't know to what extent. I'll see how the road opens up.....
This has been a good 3 "social week" days in the life of Grandma G.
"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." (Proverbs 22:9)
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