%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250425214644+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250425214644+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1939 >> stream xXێ}Wc9w CjJ=Ch1 x;``ѼtWթS\ItkTZ\Îl{rIjKzeÕ"[&%Ί:YKdFGJ=YR<}VTI썑ϋ._.$/9([dS߷~y]Ӫ`wŰ n0V%6>3]{Ivߑ6A?_R2_ Kp6x7Oo}ӯMoUnҰ](cIhH8h vJdU½X:`bdЫ{C+i/@YsUjGlHS'eO/\'Pyҡ:sM U1 `:X&=-5 gUI)#`Spн<WƶhAzѳV5PQ̘<]N\5I%4\N''&jٗ눝 ( e?v;gvr"D[Q7ևYAx.zDZV 07k%c;%־-s-bg *6 }) YIP5r'[<*buںvdeꥵoZ@i-0hrUTl@M#O_C1'g&vF8 ,z1=?NqQZ|`Fh?_ZND%. 1pF<6A6\w놎-:CS&٬cr>sr+BXx`!Me[8曆&c.`p)6-K_~@Ѕk`(8\$z`ʗn m1?0ՠL2Fdo嗑hpL3A<ު+}1Rꗳt"Q5rK.ȱ0q*^ 9J6_@1OB}*l`-}yl^2xaAO9!6:(rvwMu+9{qns>73ʓv ض 9/) o>鍾?NS*K6y,ѝ/ߞh|<֠:(Zeas #ɹXA(DPz}:Z{e`^9 ;vzIz e+&zkUU 1:y\bhwOsg @bLƩz3k0BKkԺ=/xԓ .6٘悆#HFتVUsl%ҥG`׎,nru92W 3#o\p%WVQ4:(aK3uNB܆RBD$ᩅ>n |[ɜ*d"AL;?g ^džH";T_.īՓж,|¨og<\ƯO1kZ ,*|.Xy^tK2ٔ33<`t_8:@m_qR#.PeM8KYVVfU1hoU$,2?^edũˮe endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Times-Italic /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1769 >> stream xWn6}Wc eʌ^ƩO#qhÛ8gXx+>bG U'gt0!cf=RAUө{,>1(P|M] :#tDLrn򢆶[m*)IWf=+78N(k1hy#eBx58q=s:fcD ‚_A9oٽt4l%$gDI[vqW ɷ.S>ɳ6qq:/D ᐓH@цthݾ9:>9 C#2ٗ6+V”w!>14-bzY)logArq6f@bB3Pʖ5\_eJhε2\:Np >!r]sFGU]u٣lz\Q ?9Pw|` TMk , pCߌЅr*vӃ۞0tznF ";`o0BR}[sjN~Q4e9XU?z QUP<Ɍ }%IZe,7c`΍tF${"Uǥhm\N:NE n$vCR.שe^>bZ"2. + qf!ˎ \{bVdjڶw]]d'efll[| H]x]t w5vKv v!0 endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002762 00000 n 0000002869 00000 n 0000002977 00000 n 0000003087 00000 n 0000003200 00000 n 0000003311 00000 n 0000003340 00000 n 0000003450 00000 n 0000009025 00000 n 0000010156 00000 n 0000010215 00000 n 0000010274 00000 n 0000010379 00000 n 0000012222 00000 n 0000012279 00000 n 0000012336 00000 n 0000017911 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<10e46a51ea6430621fbcfc34de5fb503><10e46a51ea6430621fbcfc34de5fb503>] >> startxref 19042 %%EOF On the Corner | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

On the Corner

May 12, 2001
4 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

BY ROBERT DOCTER – 

Corners occur at crossroads.

That’s where things happen. That’s where people gather. That’s where the action is–at the crossroads of life–on the corners of our existence. That’s where you’ll find me–on the corner. I’ve got a big microphone–“a bully pulpit”–a loud voice to comment–a will to become involved. My corner is a metaphor for life.

People are on the move in the crossroads. They bring much with them. Joy jumps aboard. Pain passes slowly. Confusion careens in. Anger acts out its anxiety. Apathy disregards. But mostly, I see business-like movement–people locked into their own world, ignoring the world around them–trying desperately to be anonymous.

Choice is thrust upon them. They must decide their direction of travel. Hopefully, the direction they take corresponds to their goal. Some know exactly what turn to take at my corner. They are focused. They have a direction in mind. They know where they are going. They have a vision about the short and long range consequences of taking a turn one way instead of another.

Some are lost, unable to decide what to do. They don’t know where they are going and simply allow themselves to be carried along by others. They’re in the habit of going with the flow. They simply wander here and there, having nowhere to turn.

Some get themselves stuck in a lane of traffic that requires them to make an unplanned turn in only one way. Their inability to plan ahead forces a new direction on them. They realize their mistake too late and are required to detour before getting back on track. Others get to my corner only to discover they have come too far and need to turn around and go back– maybe needing to clean up matters of unfinished business on other corners of their lives–maybe fearful of venturing forth too far from known surroundings–maybe convinced they are heading in the wrong direction.

Many stop and talk–looking up the street and down the street–this way and that–joining me in observing what is going on around us. I listen to them–their speech articulating the accents of the world–their voices expressing the joys and sorrows, the frustrations and fantasie. I listen and participate.

Some are bigots who haven’t yet discovered that they themselves are the true object of their discontent. With hostility and hatred they spew forth their vituperative venom and then walk away alone, anger clouding their faces. Others seem out of touch with reality, appearing to have something important to say but able only to use words not designed to fit together.

Some believe they walk in perfection while holding their secrets of doubt and disbelief deep within them. They tell others they have messages from on high in relation almost to anything. Their “direct contact” always tells them exactly what to do–even when to cross the street–and if others hear different messages, they are wrong–listening on an inappropriate wave length.

Almost everyone on my corner has an opinion on just about everything. Some really don’t have any opinion; they are simply opinionated. Rampant judgmentalism runs amok. Hardly anyone seems tentative. Everyone is positive. It seems as if the corner is alive. It’s exciting and exhausting at the same time, for I, too, have something to add to the mix. I have a point of view as well. Some listen. Some disagree. Some nod in agreement. Others simply nod off.

The corner thrusts strange, unexpected events upon us. This guy wants to sell me a watch. He calls it a “watch-out.” He has a dozen or so on both arms–pulling the sleeves up to show me his wares. They have the appearance and brand names of expensive timepieces–but they don’t appear new. They are enticing–and the price is right. Then, the sleeve comes down quickly as two uniformed law enforcement officers approach, their belts jingling with multiple hanging objects, weapons at the hip, nightsticks at the ready–radio microphones poised at their collar bones. My salesman disappears. Some, I guess are charlatans; others protect me from charlatans.

The setting sun signals the approach of night and brilliant lights illuminate my corner. Signs ignored in daylight now scream for attention in flashing tubes of red and green. The feel of the corner changes as a different clientele moves in–or maybe they’re really the same. I see them differently. The stark shadows reveal the desperate physical plight of the addict–his eyes locked into hollow pockets of tight, tan flesh. Four nicely dressed couples pass us by, laughing in their evening clothes on the way to the theater. I think–their evening costs more than this man will see in a month. I walk him to the hamburger stand and buy him some food. We talk as he eats. He says he’s twenty-five. He looks forty. He needs more money. Not from me. He’s not ready to quit. I give him a phone number instead and tell him to call collect.

Life occurs on my corner–with its wide array of feelings, thoughts and behavior–ever moving, never still. Life–always worth using–only for the living–and I’m very much alive–on the corner.

You live on a corner, too.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like