You Can't Save Them All...but Maybe One

(Initially written via my iPhone at 1am this morning!)

The most trippy random thing just happened! And who says it’s boring up here at seven hills in union city? Heard a knock at the door. The dogs went crazy of course. I opened the door a tiny crack with Jerry the Dog right there to protect me just in case. Saw a chick with bright red dyed hair lotsa tattoos and piercings looking scared and lost. At first I was sure she had to be one of my kids’ friends right? Of course...she frantically told me she was lost and her phone died and her guy friend had told her he lived on Appian way!"There are a million little streets called Appian way!" She yelled. I believed her and felt her pain remembering how I got lost finding my own house.There are dozens of Appian ways here that'd drive anyone nuts!

But here was this frantic chick at my door with a dead phone. Jen had awakened and told the chick to be quiet because the baby was sleeping. She said she’d charge her phone for her while I stood outside on a cool clear night noticing hundreds of stars because there are no lights on our street and we are in the hills. Jen and I had both giggled incessantly when we noticed this chick with the smeared makeup had a hello kitty zombie tattoo on her arm and hello kitty furry boots. We both looked at each other and said Megan!

So this chick went on and on loudly in the night. She wasvisiting this guy friend she’d known her whole life. Oh but she's married andhas kids so she escaped from her house because there were problems and he wasmean to her. And even though Adam was kind of a stoner he was always kind toher. She said stuff about him I can't repeat here.

So apparently this guy was short and wore makeup at schooland kids picked on him but he was always her best friend and grew up to be thisgorgeous guy but now she was list because he didn't give the street address andthere are so many Appian ways. There's a sucker born every minute because eventhough I could smell the alcohol in her breath I felt bad for her chanting thatall too familiar mantra in my head you can't save them all.

Jen managed to get the phone charged and said shed callthis Adam guy to get an address. She went back inside.

The chick went on to say that no one would help her except an 18 -year-old gas station attendant who got her to Appian way and how her momwas a hippie chick sort of like me and had that said that in her day if peopleknocked on the door and needed help people really helped but nowadays peopleare scared not that she blames them though.

I remembered how people used to come to our flat in San Francisco at times in the middle of the night. Like Betty from up the street who ran away from a mean boyfriend or random people I didn't know. They always ended up in the kitchen or the living room. And my mom talked to them forhours. You can't let them in anymore. But sometimes you can.

Finally we figured out where Adam was. Jen wrotedirections down and he was only point one mile away! Do you really think Ishould see him now? Jen and I nodded yes. After all that? He's waiting for youout in the street and wearing orange. There was no way this chick could driveback to Castro valley. No way.

She gave me a huge hug and said thanks. Said her name wasJenny but that she went my raven as well and we found out she knew someone Jenknew! Go figure. I watched her shuffle off to her car in her furry hello kittyboots. So old yet so young...sigh. I like to think that maybe just maybe Jen and I saved a life tonight.

Here's the note Jenny showed me last night...no specific address and there really are dozens of Appian Ways! I hope she found the person she was looking for.

Life is trippy, filled with irony...and typos (most of which I've gotten rid of here, but probably still a few snafus... remembering all of my kids' friends who'd end up at our place...