My Fraternal Nowhere Buddy Peter Arnez Managing Publiisher Built on the Rock
the inability to answer the basic question, what is life all about? Where do I go from here? How will I find it? Their mind and heart each has been dammed up with all the scum and garbage of the world." This is a harsh landscape to describe as the home of humanity…
A man I often see walking the streets of Rancho Cordova is tall, 50-ish, with a full shag of disheveled hair and a full beard. I don’t think he’s homeless, but I’m certain he is wandering. He wears soiled blue mechanic coveralls, no socks, and his tennis shoes are well worn. Often, I see him sitting barefoot on the grass under the shade of a tree rubbing his feet. His feet must be sore. His face and hands have that ultra-dark complexion from years spent in the sun. He has a worn-out look about him. He moves slow and steady with purpose, as if he has somewhere to go. Walking purposefully is his ruse, his way of blending into his surroundings, and not drawing attention to himself. He reminds me of the Beatles song, Nowhere Man. He's a real nowhere man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn't have a point of view Knows not where he's going to, Isn't he a bit like you and me? Over fifty years ago, Bishop Fulton Sheen made a brash statement about the human condition that I find both unsettling yet true even to this day. Says Sheen, "The vast majority of people today are suffering from what might best be described as an existential neurosis… the anxiety and pain of living…
38
Back to my nowhere buddy. I've been crossing paths with him for years. I've tried offering him a greeting, but he doesn't seem to speak. I've been in line with him at Costco and watched him get the $1.99 hot dog special, all without saying a word. Once, on a very hot day, when he was lying in the shade, I saw a food truck come screeching to a stop in front of him. The driver jumped out of his truck, opened his concession stand door, and grabbed a sandwich and soda, tossing them through the air for nowhere man to catch. Then the driver jumped back in his truck and off he went. The driver had found his neighbor in the way Bishop Sheen had described. My favorite nowhere man story is about the time I was walking with my 2-year-old grandson Kieran in a stroller. We ended up together with nowhere man at a crosswalk light, both of us waiting to cross the street.
yet so true. His escape plan from this hellish human condition is equally brash and not at all what I expected to hear. He specifically states, “I expect you think I’m going to tell you to get down on your knees and start praying to God… but I’m not. You’re not ready for that.” His escape plan follows: "FIND your Neighbor. The easiest way out of this is to love the people whom you see. If we do not love whom we see, how can we love God whom we do not see? Once you do this, you begin to break out of the shell. You discover that your neighbor is NOT HELL as Sartre would have you believe. Your neighbor is part of yourself and is a creature of God."
To be honest, I was worried. This is a big, disheveled mountain of a man! As it worked out, he bent down to get a better look at Kieran. It was a long look, and they both seemed to be saying something to each other without saying a word. Then nowhere man straightened up and looked me in the eye, something he had never done before. He said, "beautiful baby." Just then the light changed, and he went on his way. I was in shock... he can speak! And I had said nothing. I felt like a miracle had just occurred. I believe my Kieran was given a special blessing from nowhere man. We were now nowhere mans neighbor. Look for the presence of God in your neighbor, even those that may not express faith or lifestyle the same way we do. They can expand our notion of God and remind us how Christ-like acts are sometimes carried out by unlikely people.
