Thank God You Are Here

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Many people are frustrated and nervous by the time they make it to the parking lot. They’ve been driving for hours, much of the way with very little signage. Their GPS quit working quite some time back. They have no map or only the very small map on their phone or a map no one in the vehicle knows how to read. They don’t know where they are. They don’t know if they are close to their destination. They haven’t seen a gas station or a fast food restaurant in a really long time.

Some people are absolutely confused when they pull into the parking lot. More than once, I’ve asked drivers Are you here for the trail? and have received I don’t know! in response.

I’ve had people yell at me for the lack of signs. I try to remember these people (usually front seat passengers) are scared and tired (and probably hungry) and feeling out of control. Surely they don’t really think I stole road signs in order to make their trip more stressful?

One morning an obviously rented motor home pulled into the parking lot. My co-worker approached the driver’s side window. The driver, a bald man with an accent from somewhere outside the U.S. A. exclaimed loudly enough for me to hear ten feet away, Thank God you are here!

My co-worker, cucumber cool, asked, And why is that?

It was the typical story. They’d been driving a long time. They saw no signs. The GPS wasn’t working. They weren’t sure they were where they wanted to be. Thank God there was someone in the parking lot to tell them they had arrived and to assure them they were where they wanted to be.

I think it’s wonderful to be appreciated.

I made sure to tell my boss how happy that man was to see my co-worker standing in the parking lot.

Now whenever my co-worker is particularly helpful, to me or a visitor, I exclaim to him, Thank God you are here!

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

One Response »

  1. That’s funny! So many people depend on GPS that when they lose it, they act like the tether broke on the space ship broke and they’re floating away in space. And no matter how long they’ve had the GPS, they expect it to always be there for them. People are funny. And downright weird.

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