WEBVTT - Playing Cards in a Dumpster?

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<v Speaker 1>This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,

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<v Speaker 1>and we tell stories about everything here on this show,

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<v Speaker 1>from the arts to sports, and from business to history

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<v Speaker 1>and everything in between, including your story. Send them to

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<v Speaker 1>our American Stories dot com. There's some of our favorites.

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<v Speaker 1>And today we bring you a story from one of

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<v Speaker 1>our listeners in the Twin Cities. We love telling you

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<v Speaker 1>stories of redemption. And Paul Kotts wrote the book on it. Well.

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<v Speaker 1>He wrote a book Something Happened Today, a collection of

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<v Speaker 1>the unexpected. The book was initially conceived by Kotts's desire

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<v Speaker 1>to leave something inspiring for his daughters to read. The

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<v Speaker 1>title is a suggestion to look for a miracle every day,

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<v Speaker 1>and he's drawn from personal experience. Here's Paul.

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<v Speaker 2>Years ago, I was working at a center for the

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<v Speaker 2>homeless in Kansas City. Each day we would receive donations

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<v Speaker 2>from local markets and donors to feed one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>twenty plus people in a place called the Family House.

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<v Speaker 2>On a beautiful sunny Tuesday morning, a man yelled at

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<v Speaker 2>me from across the street. Hey you, it was my

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<v Speaker 2>turn to wash windows at the Family Center. I would

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<v Speaker 2>put the soapy water in the bucket fill and rinse

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<v Speaker 2>it out and use a squeegee to make the windows glisten.

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<v Speaker 2>I turned around and there was this guy waving at

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<v Speaker 2>me from the dumpster in plain sight. He had a

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<v Speaker 2>salt and pepper colored beard and emotioned for me to

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<v Speaker 2>come over. I dropped my cleaning supplies and ventured across

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<v Speaker 2>the street to see the man. Got the time, he asked.

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<v Speaker 2>I gave him the time, and he told me his

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<v Speaker 2>name was Joe. Do you smoke, he asked no. I

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<v Speaker 2>thought back to my dad, who had an air of

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<v Speaker 2>confidence when he puffed away many times, driving his Thunderbird

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<v Speaker 2>convertible top down and listening to his fifties and sixties music.

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<v Speaker 2>In this case, Joe was smoking a Marlborough with deep puffs,

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<v Speaker 2>exhaling through his nose with a purpose. His expression didn't change,

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<v Speaker 2>but his wrinkles around the eyes exuded wear and tear,

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<v Speaker 2>as well as his ability to smile. I have to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure I get my stuff out of here before

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<v Speaker 2>they throw me away, too, he laughed. I realized and

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<v Speaker 2>fully understood what he was saying. Each Tuesday morning, early

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<v Speaker 2>the trash compactor would come and hoist the industrial still

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<v Speaker 2>dumpster into the air and empty the garbage and refuse

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<v Speaker 2>from the past week. I thought about what we'd take

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<v Speaker 2>for granted in our great country and how this type

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<v Speaker 2>of life still exists. He went on to let me

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<v Speaker 2>know a culinary tip too. He mentioned that he could

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<v Speaker 2>not stand cauliflower. In addition to cleaning assignments at the shelter,

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<v Speaker 2>we would venture to the downtown markets to catch some

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<v Speaker 2>of the produce vendors throwing out strawberries, potatoes, onions that

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<v Speaker 2>dreaded cauliflower, and heads of lettuce with first signs of spoiling.

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<v Speaker 2>A Christian brother named Lewis explained to us as workers

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<v Speaker 2>that ten percent that is the top of the crate

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<v Speaker 2>may be spoiled, but if cleared away, ninety percent of

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<v Speaker 2>it is beautiful fruits and vegetables. We waste a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of food around here, he told me. While store owners

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<v Speaker 2>and shopkeepers were not always fond of us intercepting the

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<v Speaker 2>crates before they were tossed in the trash, but many

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<v Speaker 2>let us know the best times to stop by to

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<v Speaker 2>pick up the edible food before it made its way there.

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<v Speaker 2>I noticed in the dumpster he had a rickety blanket,

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<v Speaker 2>two small kid sized chairs, and a makeshift table. One

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<v Speaker 2>week I watched him do it. The restaurant bar would

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<v Speaker 2>throw empty bottles and trash and fill the dumpster most

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<v Speaker 2>of the way, but Joe would time it perfectly, waiting

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<v Speaker 2>for the trash truck to pick up the refuse, and

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<v Speaker 2>then he proceeded to put his chairs and table back

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<v Speaker 2>in for another week's worth of living. Want to play

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<v Speaker 2>some cards, he asked me. I was kind of mesmerized

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<v Speaker 2>by this man who seemed to just go about his

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<v Speaker 2>business of living the streets so effortlessly. But this was

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<v Speaker 2>a home to him, a place of comfort, protection, and

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<v Speaker 2>possible peril if he forgot to wake up on a Tuesday. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Once I had a close call, but people check on

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<v Speaker 2>me to make sure I get out in time. He

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<v Speaker 2>hopped back in, arranged the chairs and table, and then

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<v Speaker 2>so did I. We played part of a game of

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<v Speaker 2>cribbage with pegs of popcorn kernels. You want a banana,

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<v Speaker 2>he asked me. He pulled out what seemed like a

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<v Speaker 2>fresh fruit, unpeeled it, and we each had a half.

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<v Speaker 2>Here is this guy who barely had a place to live,

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<v Speaker 2>sharing what he had with me, his new card playing buddy.

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<v Speaker 2>It was early most of my colleagues were still asleep

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<v Speaker 2>that morning, and I'm thinking to myself, why am I

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<v Speaker 2>in a dumpster? I eventually returned to my window cleaning assignment.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of your thinking, I will never have lunch or

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<v Speaker 2>coffee with me again, and make sure I wash my hands.

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<v Speaker 2>But for me, this was a moment of grace in

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<v Speaker 2>my life, a wake up call and awakening to another

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<v Speaker 2>world that I never knew nor previously wanted to see.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought about what I would do if this were me,

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<v Speaker 2>and how I would cope. Would I be playing cribbage,

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<v Speaker 2>possibly drinking to avoid the pain, or maybe dead because

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't have the stamina or the resourcefulness of Joe.

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<v Speaker 2>I will never forget that man's generosity, who offered his

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<v Speaker 2>temporary home, part of his sustenance, a game to play,

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<v Speaker 2>his creative adaptation of life, and his daily appreciation of

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<v Speaker 2>the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>And you've been listening to Paul Kott's and what a

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<v Speaker 1>terrific story about grace and about well learning to see

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<v Speaker 1>what's unseen. And by the way, I love that he's

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<v Speaker 1>written this book to inspire his daughters, because there's so

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<v Speaker 1>little around to read to our kids that inspires them,

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<v Speaker 1>and they're yearning for it, and they're desperate for it.

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<v Speaker 1>We all are, and that's what we try and do.

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<v Speaker 1>On our American Stories, Paul Cott's story and in the end,

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<v Speaker 1>Joe's story too. Here on our American Stories. Here are

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<v Speaker 1>to our American Stories. We bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith,

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