October 11, 2015

It was a strange night last night on the SE 188th Max platform.

I guess every night there is kinda strange, because I was there a few nights ago and there were a dozen police officers and four fare inspectors standing on the platform, both sides. When my Max train got there, they all got on the train, checked everyone’s (all six of us) tickets three times and then exited the train to stand and chat on the platform again. Anyway…

As Diane and I approached the platform last night, we were immediately accosted by a young man who insisted that we take some of his mint gum, at no cost. “It’s for the environment,” he claims. Diane takes some because it’s difficult for him to take a “no.”

Diane sits on a bench and there’s 18 minutes till the train. A minute later a couple approaches us, and it’s new people from Anawim, and the gal says, “Look, someone we know!” and she plops herself down next to Diane and tells her that she’s from a small town and she’d kinda freaked by Portland.

A minute later a large stranger comes up to us and tells us a long story about how he lost his cell phone that morning. Everyone was very friendly last night.

Then an older woman came by our impromptu party. She tried unsuccessfully to pass by the “environmental gum” guy, and he insisted that she take some of his gum. She tried to refuse, but he continued to offer his wares and finally she turned to him in front of us all and said, “Leave me alone! I’m a Christian!”

Which prompted the guy talking to me and I to laugh and wonder what kind of Christian she was who wouldn’t take gum.

This reminds me of another time, many years ago, when I was in Bangladesh and I was taking a baby taxi from one location to another in the very busy city of Dakka. As the taxi was stopped at a light, a man came by and accosted me, “You want a girl? I can get you a girl.”

I shook my head, but he insisted. So I said, “No, I don’t. I’m a Christian.”
Unfazed, he said, “You want a Christian girl? I can get you one.”

I guess the moral of my stories is saying “I’m a Christian” is a pretty poor excuse for doing or not doing anything. I mean Christians can do anything, right?