Knock Down, Build Up

1977.7.22

I am not likely to forget today. I can't remember ever having such a difficult time. My goal was $200. I made $53.

First I was dropped off at a Safeway, but after a short time Bruce showed up because he'd been KO'd from his lot. So I gave him the Safeway and went to another area Tony told me about. But when I got there John was there, so I went even farther down the strip, but the area was dead.

So I tried to catch a ride to Kmart, but my ride was short and I ended up in some industrial area. Carolyn had done most of it a couple days earlier. After a long wait I finally got a ride to Kmart, but by this time I was utterly exhausted, so I stopped for lunch. As I was eating, Carolyn appeared on the Kmart lot. So I headed off for yet another parking lot.

As I was walking down the street I suddenly stopped in front of a motel, which I finally recognized as the one we were staying at. Peeking around the corner I saw the van, so I went up to the room and Tony, who was doing the books, let me in. I told him how everywhere I'd been already had another fundraiser from our team working it, so he told me to take a nap.

After a short rest, Tony took me to a small food store in town and left me for the rest of the day. He told me I could do the drive-in I got rained out of last night. After a while I caught a ride out there and did an apartment complex. It was pretty poor, but many people gave something.

As I finished the apartments it was getting dark and the drive-in was beginning to fill up. I was very tired, so I drank a quart of orange juice, which made me feel better. But as I got to the drive-in, Mike was just leaving, having just completed the whole thing. My heart sank. All of my hopes of making any kind of result were gone.

Later I saw Tony and he picked me up. Both he and Michael began to praise me for persevering, so I couldn't feel negative. I got out to fundraise one last time, and then when we all met together Tony gave testimony to me in front of team, praising me for my effort and trustability in a difficult situation.