The Sheriff’s Department set up a tent to collect unneeded Opioids

It got me thinking about moral values

When I took out the trash this morning, I wasn’t surprised to see several patrol cars on the property. I was surprised to see a tent set up and the Deputies serving chili dogs.

They didn’t have any luck collecting drugs

There were flyers and plastic bags on the doors to the apartments. The flyers encouraging the residents to get rid of unneeded opiates.

The whole thing made me think of when I was homeless in Minneapolis. When people are poor they don’t always think of the good of the community.

Prescription Opioids are a business opportunity

I don’t know how many times I sat on a bench in the park and watched my neighbors sell their prescription drugs. The Pharmacies often wouldn’t fill painkiller prescriptions with the shelter’s address.

I know for a fact if I wanted to cop some pills I could put the word out and score whatever I wanted in a few minutes. I didn’t think this way before I was homeless. I’m ashamed to say that if I came across any narcotics I would have sold them without a second thought.

Homelessness can drag a person down to an atavistic level. What would you do to survive?

I would like to think I’m better than that

I didn’t have to panhandle or break into cars or deal drugs. I tell myself after the fact that I would not go there, but faced with those choices during that time in my life?

It doesn’t take much to change your way of looking at things. I tried hard to hold on to the values my parents raised me with, but they slowly slipped away.

“What happened to me?” I thought much later

One afternoon I was sitting on a bench in the park. One of my neighbors was sitting next to me when an intoxicated man sat on the bench across from us.

The drunk was doing the wrong things in the wrong place. He was playing with his money. He dropped dollar bills all over the place, then he would nod off.

My neighbor and I watched this fool like we were sharks and the drunk was a wounded fish. The drunk got it together and collected his money before stumbling off.

The old Lawson wouldn’t have thought of taking the man’s money. The Lawson I am now wouldn’t have taken the money. The man I was then wouldn’t have lost any sleep over taking the money.

Where would I be now?

I’m not proud of this, not by a long shot. Where would I be now if I hadn’t met the woman online who I later married? I didn’t see any way out of the homeless life when I was in it.

Meeting Olivia was my lifeline. I would still be in that life, and without Devine Intervention. I would have continued the slide into an amoral abyss.

Before you judge, think about your values. Are your values strong enough to sustain you? I thought I was strong, but in a short time, I saw my morals slip away.

Final Thought:

Pray for the homeless and pray for yourself that you never have your values tested the way mine were tested.