Chapter Five

         I woke up bright and early and headed to McDonald's for a warm breakfast and to charge my phone. I got on on ramp to the interstate and not five minutes standing there a guy pulled over. He was headed to Louisville. He was a retired Army officer. I chose not to tell him about my experience with the Army so he told me to look into joining. I just smiled and said OK.

He dropped me off in Old Louisville. I decided to get some beer and relax. I enjoyed the beer in a hideaway of thick green brush. The next day, I visited a church to find a soup kitchen. I had very little money left, and it probably was unwise to buy beer, but what can you do? The church received me openly and gave me the names of some soup kitchens.

I slept on a bench at a church that night, a few times waking up to the feeling of cold water spraying myself from the sprinklers. What a way to be awakened! In the morning an old bum offered me a smoke and a drink. Although I had quit smoking, I took him up on his offer of drink. He was a very cool fellow. We drank a beer and wandered the town a bit, where I met a guy who had just got out of prison. He asked me if I knew where a liquor store was, and we showed him the way. He bought us a pint of vodka in return. We went to a little park and passed the bottle around. An older black gentleman known on the streets as Junebug (I never knew his real name) showed up. He told me about a church that might help with a bus ticket to Green Bay. The old bum I was with ended up getting too drunk for my liking, so I left to find the church, but they were unable to help me.