Home is where the heart is

               

I'd like to paint a picture of where we live.  Our street is called "The Avenue".  Of course it has a formal name, but nobody ever calls it that. The street intersects about 3 miles down with Main Street.  Does every city and town have a Main St?  Well, the Avenue has a reputation of its own.  Once the center of a bustling new city, it is now relegated to "the other side of the tracks".  Where all the buildings were (and are) period pieces and beautifully made, they are now old and tired looking.

The most important people in the city no longer walk the avenue and frequent the shops.  In fact, a single look would suggest that these are the least desireable in the city.  We have a lot of homeless people walking around because the river community where they sleep is close by.  Some of the homeless are those who are apparently not sick enough, emotionally or physically, for the state or government.  There are some VietNam vets as well.  We help a guy named 3 Dog whenever we can, and a deaf redhead we have always called Big Red. 

The area has also been quickly taken over by hispanics looking for cheaper housing.  Most of the houses are very small, 1 or 2 bedrooms.  Some of these people don't speak English and are not here legally.  As I have seen in Mexico, most of them walk to get where they are going.  Unfortunately they are also exposed to the seedier side of society just by living near the avenue.

Our church is called Avenue Community.  I translate for Spanish speakers there.  The church regularly has outreaches to reach the people of our community.  There is a bus to bring any child that wants to the church on Sunday and for activities.  It's a wonderful church with members from all walks of life.  A couple of weeks ago, we had a woman come in wearing a pair of blue flannel pajamas and carrying a Crown Royal bag for a purse.  She had the shakes.  Several people came up to welcome her. When she got too shaky and went out to the patio, A member went to see to her needs; got her some coffee and something to eat. 

There appears to be a lot of drinking and drug activity on the avenue.  The people involved always seem to be on a mission to either get drugs or sell them.  They cross in the middle of the street.  Many are dressed in clothes that would make myself or my hubby self-conscious. 

Farther up the avenue, a newer yuppie-type settlement has begun - beautiful condo's , a gated community of single family homes.  Some are on the avenue, some are just to the east or west of the avenue.  It is those up-and-coming young people who want to put a new face on the avenue.  They want to move any industrial or warehouse type businesses father up the avenue and the want to restore the former glory of the avenue.

My family and I live farther up the avenue in the warehouse and industrial district.  We live near the oil fields.  We actually live above a body shop.  The industrial area is all around us.  Our landlord has lived here for many years.  He often tells us stories of how the avenue used to be when he came and the changes.  He loves this part of town.  So do we.  In Mexico, we were on a ranch in the middle of nothingness.  Nothing but agriculture.  We loved it there.  Our neighbors to the right are businesses, surrounding us for the most part is the body shop, and the equivalent of 2 doors away a home, then our landlord's home.  One home is across the street.  That's it folks.  Our little bit of nothingness at the end of a fairly large city.

We love where and in what city we live.  Just 3 1/4 miles down is the ocean.  And not just a peek at it, but ocean, fairgrounds, fireworks on the 4th of July, a large mall and wonderful old downtown shops are close enough to walk to (if we were walkers).  Well, the mall is a stretch, but old downtown has the flavor of a small town.  The shops are wonderful and disparate.  There is a tiny knife shop, a small red and white 50's looking cafe, a thrift shop or two, specialty clothing, a rare book store and some antique stores. 

I won't diminish the avenue by saying that's all there is.. There is a family feel to the avenue.  Hispanic families walk hand in hand, the homeless get to know our faces and the workers in the shops have begun to call us by name.  After so many years in Mexico, we came back to a place neither of us have lived and found "home" here.  That's saying a lot for our little piece of the world.  This city is one of the jewels of our state, bordered by hills and mountains on one side and the awesome Pacific Ocean on the other.  Welcome to my world.

May you all be richly blessed by the Lord today,