Stories from the road - Democratic Underground

Droopy

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Sat Jun-11-05 04:22 PM
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Stories from the road

This story is about a guy who I'll call Allen. That's not his real name, but the events that I'm about to describe are true.

Allen is a security guard at the factory where I pick up my freight every day. He is 60 years old, but looks, acts, and talks younger than his age. I was very surprised when he told me he was 60. I had put him at around 45-50. Last night I had a problem at the factory and I got to know Allen a little better while I waited to get things sorted out.

I have to stop at the security gate on my way in and get a gate pass that also has my trailer information on it. I sometimes talk to the guard working the gate for a few minutes. Last night Allen was working the gate and I asked him how he was doing when I walked into the shack. He basically said that he'd seen better days and he really meant it. He sounded depressed and that is not unusual for him. But he is a nice guy and I always try to say something like "I can relate" or something else to try to cheer him up when he's not feeling well.

When I got back to the dock I realized that I had a flat tire. A large bolt had gone through one of the tires on the trailer near the sidewall of the tire basically rendering it junk. I was getting a heavy load so there was no way I was going to chance trying to drive the truck the 40 miles to a truck stop to get the tire fixed. Road service would have to be called to come out and fix the tire at the factory. I called my company and they said it would be a couple of hours before anybody could get out to me.

There is a staging area near the guard shack where you can park a truck. I parked the truck there and decided to go hang out with Allen until the service guy could get there. We talked small talk for a little while as Allen checked in the other drivers coming into the plant. Then things got quiet as it got closer to the time when the shippers go home.

Allen was reading a book about Christian psychology and he asked me if I knew anything about psychology. I told him that I had some background in the mental health field and that I had heard of Christian psychologists. I didn't tell him that my knowledge of the field came from being a patient and that I was crazy as hell if I didn't take my medication like I should. It is my understanding that Christian psychology is distinct from just being a Christian and a psychologist. I guess that Christian psychologists use Christian principles in their therapy sessions.

Then Allen was off to the races. He didn't want to talk about psychology so much as he wanted to talk about Christianity. I soon found out that Allen had been studying the bible for the past twenty tears. Judging by the knowledge that the guy had and the way he talked he could have been a preacher. He had some interesting takes on things that I had not heard from a Christian before. He did not believe that Christ was God embodied as many Christians do. He said Christ was just a man, albeit the son of God, who loved God with all of his being. Like many Christians he believed that Jesus was the ideal person who was perfect. He thought that we should all aspire to be like Christ even though it is impossible for us to be so. Another interesting belief that he had was that he did not believe that those who have not accepted Christ suffer eternally in hell. He believed that at the rapture the "unjust" will be risen also to see that Christ is real and then they will be put back down again and relegated to nothingness. I don't know if this belief is common among Christians. Somebody help me out if you know of a denomination that doesn't believe in hell. Despite not believing in hell, Allen did think that Satan was real and that he was currently making life hard for people on earth. Earth is Satan's domain right now.

After we had talked for a while I had to admit to Allen that I hadn't been to church since I was 16. I was kind of expecting him to try to witness to me, but he did not. He simply gave me a business card with the name of a web site on it and told me to check it out. I didn't tell Allen that I was a non-believer.

I wanted to ask Allen about his politics, but I didn't want to clash with him. I was getting a republican vibe off of him earlier in the night when he said that the Iraq war was a just war and that Jesse Jackson is an asshole.

I really think we need to listen to people like Allen right now. They are currently running the country. Maybe we can learn something. Maybe a better way for dealing with those across the aisle.

After we got done talking the service guy showed up. When I parted with Allen he had a smile on his face. Sometimes we just need somebody to talk to. Somebody who will listen.