Out of this situation only good will come

We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. That observation looked out at me from a greeting card one day long ago. It stuck with me, surfacing now as I think about my friend's next adventure.

Things did not work out in Austin with the Asian grandmother, who my friend says is being kept by two loud and aggressive Vietnamese drunks. He has never been able to tolerate drunks. When they came in the house there was a confrontation, threats were made, and my friend was evicted. He has been on the street for a week, I learned yesterday. Last night they threw his belongings on the sidewalk for anyone to take.

He tried to get himself committed, not knowing what else to do. The shingles are gone, replaced by boils, and welts from bug bites. He has found a good campsite in the bushes, he said. I hope it doesn't rain much. I know he has a tarp - I sent him one. Well, he used to have a tarp, anyway. Now I don't know.

So, the books will have to wait.

There is a song called, Music Alone Shall Live. It's a beautiful round, running through my head now as I think of my friend. No one can take away his music. It is soulful and beautiful, a treat at every encounter. Playing real good for free, in Joni Mitchell's words.