Third Impressions!

Having left Thousand Oaks and the kind hospitality of the Seventh-day Adventist couple Ziggy and Meta, I embarked on my journey up through California.  While I had many adventures and was able to see a good deal of beautiful scenery, both the beaches and the interior of California, and the Redwood forests of Northern California and Oregon, eventually I found myself low on funds again, and in need of work.

By this time I was in Bellingham.  Why?  Well, I was unconventional as a youth, and was not interested in doing the usual "Let's go to Seattle" thing.  I passed Seattle without stopping, though I did stop in Everett, where a labor dispute had gone wrong many decades ago.  Yes, yes, youthful idealism, but the labor movement of the first half of the 20th century has always fascinated me.

In Bellingham, walking about with my trusty backpack, I did three things at once.  First I walked towards a Manpower office, as being a modern day hobo I was registered at Manpower in general and would often have my last check forwarded to where I figured I'd be going.  I had no check waiting for me this time, but I knew they could find a job for me.

On the way there, I saw a man painting a house, but he was kind of futzing about and didn't look like he wanted to do it.  I told him I'd come back Sunday - this being Friday - and do it for him.  He agreed and agreed on a price, so I knew I'd have some cash in hand by Sunday evening.  So that was technically the first thing I did.

Second thing was getting checked in with Manpower, and yeah, they could send me to what I think of as a "fishery", a place where we'd be dealing with assembly line work involving fish.  Batting a thousand so far!  Given my two previous experiences, I knew what I'd be doing on the Sabbath tomorrow, and that was going to a Seventh-day Adventist church.

And the next day, after a pleasant evening camped in a wood area (I carried camping gear in my rather large mountaineer style back pack) I was at services.  Having first got an early morning shower at a local hotel. (Few question whether you're a guest if you just avail yourself of the changing room by the pool, at least not if you're a clean cut young person!)  And I always had at least one pair of nice slacks, black shoes, a button down and tie for if I had to apply for a job besides Manpower.

They were happy to have me, and enjoyed hearing my story.  The next day there was going to be a church cleaning, so I showed up for that in the morning, then to that guy's house to paint the front side, which was all he wanted, in the afternoon.  With that cash in pocket, I could afford a cab to work the next day.  And by the end of that day, had a ride back "home", which was a local shelter I had found that would serve till my first paycheck.

I spent two months there, before moving on.  That time to Alaska, where for a variety of reasons I no longer attended church.  But the Adventists were not any of those reasons!  They had, as in the other two cases, been nothing but nice.  And this time I learned even more, like attending some studies/classes.  And aiding in various charitable projects, that was nice.

Inevitably I was offered more aid, but this time, not needing it, I was pleased to be able to say "no , thank you".  I enjoyed having a job, a place (I had a little efficiency after the first week) and a used bike for getting around.  I could then attend Sabbath school, Sabbath services and various events with them not as a receiver of aid, but as just another member.  

I should have, like the last time I had encountered Adventists, joined then, but for reasons I am not really clear about, even to myself, I did not.  I did go to Alaska and dropped out of going to any church.  But I do remember telling a woman of that Adventist church in Bellingham that if I ever did formally join a church, it would be theirs.  

Those words would come back to me later - over 25 years later - to make me wonder why I had not.  But that is another story!