Theme Week 5 Enlightenment.

The summer of 1993 was a typical summer for me. I had planned to spend a week in Waterbury, CT. to visit with my relatives, see some friends that I haven't been in touch with for a while, and see my girlfriend who lived 10 minutes away in Derby. I was traveling like most first class college students; on the greyhound bus. The greyhound bus is certainly the limo of the hood, complete with live improvisational theater. There is "The Mime": the person that sits across from you and assumes that they are silently working out their issues by gesturing and creating the scenarios with both hands, when in reality they are talking aloud oblivious to the audience. You have the soap opera "As the Bus Runs": The couple in back of you that is well aware of the audience and creates the love scene, conflict, and triumph in the span of a trip. Up in the front seats was the "Family Channel": Today's episode included the single parent with children. Parent was equipped with pocket board games and snack crackers to keep the children busy. The ride to CT. was going to be 10 hours long so the shows were going to be my only source of entertainment.

During the ride down 95 south I had time to reflect upon my experiences in Maine over the course of the year. The first day that I stepped foot in Bangor there was a blizzard that was followed by another blizzard the next day on April fool's day. I had enrolled at Penobscot Job Corps and learned quickly to appreciate the values that Mom had placed in me as this was my first time being on my own. It was in Maine that I had become involved in church. I had become quite religious, attending all services and prayer meetings. My life was changing for the good. I was very religious but had a lesson to learn about being a christian.

Looking out of the window of the bus, watching the highway rails and scenary go by provided a flickering effect almost like movie film. It was then that I thought about the last time I was in Waterbury. I was downtown on the green waiting for my girlfriend to come and hang out for the day. A local church was having an outreach service on the green that afternoon. The preacher was young and speaking with enthusiasm and conviction. Looking into his eyes you could see the pain of a past worth running away from and at the same time see the thankfulness of being able to help his neighbors instead of hurting them. There was quite a crowd gathered that day to hear him speak. Everything that he was saying I could identify with. He knew his scripture, but he did not know as much as I did. It seemed like his interpretation was all wrong. I was planning on showing him "The Light" after the service. When the service was over and everyone started to go their own direction, I remained on the park bench and asked one of the church members a bible question. There was an answer that I returned with an answer of my own to contradict them. After a couple more exchanges like this, someone asked the preacher to come and speak with me. The young preacher would answer my questions and I would use more scripture to contradict his scripture. We were having a sword fight with the word of God.

I wanted to show this young man that he was like the blind leading the blind with his misinterpretation of bible scripture. I thought I was playing the devil's advocated, but I was being a jack ass. During our sword fight, a man in a motorized wheelchair was going to make his way between us and almost as if it were written in a script, the wheelchair had stopped right in the middle of the young preacher and I. The man in the wheelchair looked at us and asked if we could help him get moving again. The preacher and I worked together to adjust the chair and set the motor in position to operate again. He on one side and me on the other. The wheelchair was fixed and the man thanked us and went on his way. The preacher and I looked at each other knowing the importance of what just transpired. It was that moment that I learned that the word of God does not need me to deffend it and that the principles that are presented in it are greater than me in that self righteous state. I was wrong and I apologized to the preacher.

I learned that day that doing the word outweighed knowing the word. My religous attitude was set aside to give way for a Christian attribute. I had made up my mind that I was not going to use the bible as a source for arguing but instead to be a recipe book to help me become a better person.

I thought about that moment while refocusing my eyes from the flickering highway scenary, riding on the greyhound bus. I looked around again at the passengers on that trip and wondered to myself what was it that I could "do" to help them. I was looking forward to seeing all of the people that I usually see in CT. that summer. I was especially looking forward to seeing that young preacher again when I attend his church for the summer.