12/21/2016
I do have a few inspirations that drive me and my vision;
One of them that I think about often is the soup lady of Abq. I had gone out west to do some traveling, adventure, to get inspiration if you will.
Upon arriving in Abq, MN I had stayed in a shelter for men. Outside there was a group of people who were handing out food; among these people were a Christian biker gang (which I thought was quite unique) and The Soup Lady. One of the people who was receiving food was a rude transient “Gimme some soup!” to The Soup Lady (Later, I learned that a lot of similar attitudes are common among individuals in destitute). One of the Christian Bikers’ intervened “Hey buddy, we’re here to give out food, help you out. I don’t think it’s to much to ask for a little respect in return.”
I had remained in a similar plight for about two years. Camping out by the Rio Grande, working at establishments I did not like. Eventually, I caught on to the idea that it might be beneficial for me to donate my time somewhere (to me it seems that to often, when money is involved; the situation tends to loose luster and be less full-filling).
To shorten the story a little; I ended up at a shelter called Trinity House. Within my first week stay I met Rachelle (The Soup Lady) and her husband Jose (coincidence? I think not). I helped them make burritos, (it was surprisingly easy).
The Soup Lady and Jose had been doing this for a bit over 8 years. But wait, the story gets better . . .
They had not always done things like this. Evidently, they had spent a lot of their life taking advantage of other people. People who could either afford it or not, it did not matter.
One day Rachelle saw a new light so to speak and it could not be avoided. She made a vow that life was going to change. She made preparations to give back. Now mind you, Jose was not buying this. He argued with her on occasion, “This is stupid! I don’t understand why you do this?!” Rachelle replied; “Well, I’ll make it really simple for you. You either do this with me or you can leave.”
So, Jose helped grudgingly. Once a week they would make burritos and give them out to people in need. Then after about a month or so, Jose broke down crying. He was over-come with feelings of regret and remorse. He told Rachelle between sobs from his heart and soul, “I will never be able to go back to the life I had before.”
I could not have said it better myself
