Following Edge

When we got home today, a box was waiting for us with a cell phone from TracFone, so we headed off to deliver it to Sri. He's a twenty-something fellow who we pay to work around our farm and yard pretty regularly. Sri doesn't drive, hasn't held a job for quite a while, and recently separated from his partner (a woman named Bob). His life is very basic and he will even say, "I'm not very good at figuring out the modern world".

Given that Anne Marie and I have worked hard all our lives to build up a stable and successful existence, his very basic existence is almost incomprehensible to us. It reminds me of Brian Hines' recent story, which I commented on, about being emotionally overwhelmed by the very basic needs of a woman he gave a ride. I'm so happy that we can provide some basic employment for Sri, and happy that we can be generous with extra supplies that we can share with him. After he moved out from Bob's house, and decided to move into a camper in the hills 5 miles further out than our place, we got him an electric blanket, since he was having trouble sleeping in the cold. It was very basic, but I think it made a big difference to him.

Last week, Sri asked for advice about pre-paid cell phones. I recommended TracFone, but told Sri that I should order him one on the Internet for $20 instead of letting him find one at a mini-mart for $50 (another example of the tax on people without "modern" skills). The phone has to be a good thing for him, since we've had no way to reach him about work, aside from his daily calls from a payphone in town. He's been anxious for the phone to arrive, so we headed off to his address as soon as I saw it on our doorstop. About half way along the 5 mile, uphill trip, I spotted him walking up the road. We stopped and he was overjoyed to have the phone and happy to get a ride the remaining couple of miles.

We'd never been to Sri's camper before. It was down a long, long gravel road, in a gravel patch next to the road. The camper was in better shape than I expected, but still old and tiny (at 15 feet, including the driving compartment). His dog cautiously peered around the edge of the camper as he got out of the car. It seemed hard to imagine that he would trudge (or ride his dirt bike) so far each day so that he and his dog could live in this spot.

But, looking past his camper, there was a panoramic view of the southern Willamette valley, Fern Ridge reservoir, and the lights of the city of Eugene. It was spectacular.