Jimmie's Bar

I am in Norwood, OH for a personal retreat.  I accomplished my goal for the day and since I really like meeting new people when I am in a new community I went for a walk.  Norwood is a suburb of Cincinnati and the area where The Convent is located would probably be considered lower class if you feel the need for such labeling.  It seemed just about everyone was out on their porch this evening--some were friendly and called out to me "hey big man what's happening" others looked down.  A couple of guys stopped me and talked to me; they actually thought I was a professional powerlifter (ha!  yes, my head started to swell).  Anyways, after a few minutes of chit-chat they invited me to join them at the corner watering hole.  I agreed and walked into a small bar where almost every seat was filled.  It reminded me of Cheers since everyone seemed to know everyone's name.  What was different is that there were no lawyers, psychiatrists, or even mail carriers.  Most of the people there were unemployed or working dead-end jobs for peanuts.  One young man had an outstanding bar tab of $180 and the owner told him he had until Friday to pay half of it or he was going to be cut off.  We talked about the Bengals, the Lions and Batman, but it didn't take me long to realize their hope was in the bottom of a beer bottle.  They came to this establishment nearly every day to have a sense of belonging and the hope was they would have a good time and if nothing else be able to forget about tomorrow for at least a few moments.

I had to choke back tears as I listened to their stories of despair.  Everyone was heading outside to smoke so I thought it was a good time to bid them good-bye.  One person warned me to watch out for the gangs, another said they'd be stupid to try and take me on.  I waved and told them maybe I'd catch them tomorrow and I hope I do.

On the walk home I thought how lucky I am to have what I have.  Not just an income or a house, but great relationships and hope in something besides alcohol or lottery tickets.  We who have hope in Jesus sometimes forget how blessed we are.