My "Blind" Neighbor Paul

     Our neighbor, Paul, arrived a day after Toni. He stopped to rest with us for a bit, but kept moving on to his family. His family is on the other side of the river. Good luck. He has to cross at the narrow end. That's about two miles from us. 

     Paul was clueless to everything going on around him. People tried to open his eyes. He just kept them shut. He didn't want to see people were freezing to death in a city that, normally, never dipped below 30•F, on it's coldest night! He wanted to believe people just left without saying "good-bye".  He just thought people were rude for doing that and never wanted to talk about them again. Blind sheeple. 

     The day his mom disappeared was a big awakening, and a struggle for him. He kept asking why his mom left him? His dad told him she had been taken. He turned on his dad and blamed him! He states his mom left his dad and not him.  He walked away from his dad and never returned. His dad had thought he had been taken, too. The day he walked out on his dad he had the clothes on his back, his toothbrush, hairbrush, and snacks in his messenger bag. When he got picked up by the government he was in bad shape.  He didn't have much on him for survival. 

     The following was what Paul had on him at the time of his pick up. 

Clothes

His undershirt and underpants (ripped up). 

His t-shirt, sweater and jacket. 

His pants and his long john bottoms (No long john top). 

His two layers of socks. 

His boots. 

His handkerchief. 

That's all. He was given two changes of clothes. 

Two tops

Two bottoms 

2-pack briefs 

2-pack under shirt

2-pack socks 

An Ugly pair of red plastic clogs

1 hat/du-rag 

Paul didn't carry much in his messenger bag. 

Hygiene

Toothbrush (in case he got lucky)

Hairbrush (the morning after)

(That's it!)

He was given the following:

2-pack soap 

Toothbrush (which he refused!)

2-pack of toothpaste. ("I only need one." He told them)

5-pack of combs (once again, "I don't need all those combs. I have a brush.")

Medicinal mouthwash ("yuck!")

(Still in denial)

Food! 

What did he have for snacks? 

12 energy bars (he likes them!)

3 jerky sticks (his dad put them in his bag one day he wasn't looking) 

1 bottle of water. 

2 packs of breath mints! 

Culture/Education

He didn't have much here. He had one book and an adult pleasure magazine. 

1-anthology book on short stories 

1-well-slobbered over, Porn magazine 

Medicine 

2 band aids (no kit)

1 travel kit of aspirin 

Camping gear

Zip. Zero. Nada. 

He was given a pop up shelter for one person.  He was given a mess kit set: a bowl, a mug, a spork with knife combo. 

Homesteading/Animal Husbandry

He made such an impression on them they gave him one chicken. That's it. No rooster. He refused it!  He had no time for a chicken since he's going to school. He gave me his chicken! I told him to see me again after he found his parents.  Maybe they'll get his chicken back. 

P. S. 

It took a week but Paul came back with his dad. They picked up his chicken, and a few other things he left around. Toni wanted payment for housing the chicken. After all, he did give it to me. I said the egg it laid was payment enough. In the end, Paul's dad gave us one can of meat. I took it and hid it immediately when no one was looking. Paul's dad realizes his son is not well. Hopefully, now that he's with his parents again, he'll slowly get better.