Michael Bellinger
I have often been criticized for picking up hitch hikers. I have made it a habit to not do this while traveling with my children, or with another individual. I was a hitchhiker. I traveled by method of my thumb while I was young, more times than I can now recall. I know first hand the humility of being cursed at, having bottles thrown at me from teenagers on joy rides, and from having people stop, wait for me to catch up and then to spin out while showering me with gravel. I slept beneath bridges and ate more hot dogs with baked beans cooked over "sterno" than I can count. I have seen the best and worst of human nature while on the open road.
One time while driving from Colorado to Michigan in 1972 I picked up 23 hitchhikers. There were as many as 13 at once crammed into my 1960 Cortina (English Ford) van (called a micro bus in those days).
I instinctively knew that Michael Bellinger was making every mistake possible for a hitchiker when I first saw him walking along Hiway 49 just north of Collins, MS. He was a big burly fella carrying a back pack larger than some mobile homes. To make his chances worse he was walking along at midnight in country often hostile to outsiders. Even worse, he had a dog!
I picked Michael up with the self stated resolution that I was not going to take him any farther than to the Mt. Olive exit a few miles ahead. Michael seemed pleasant enough, and told me he was headed for Texas. I had commitments to keep, but planned to travel to Arkansas on the following morning. I told him that if I saw him on the following day I would give him a ride. I was headed down the entry ramp on I-20 in Jackson when I saw Michael and "Blackie (the dog) trying to get a ride.
I pulled over and we began what would be almost a two year journey. Michael was slow; not retarded, but definitely not quite up to speed. He had a good heart though. I asked him where he was going exactly. He told me "Orange, Texas".
"Why" was answered with two remarks.
"They have houses for rent there for $200 per month and my SSI will pay for that much". Secondly he went on to say, "and that is farther than I have ever been before."
I asked Michael if he knew how to get there. The answer was "No but I have a map... but I can't read, and I sure can't read no map".
I asked to see his map. Orange Texas was circled but we were not traveling towards Orange, Texas. He had already gone enough miles to have been there. I asked why he chose this route, and he said that he had asked someone to show him where to go.
"I just ask them, and they tell me where to go, and I do it", he said.
I asked him then, when the last time was he had eaten?
"Me and Blackie ate our last meal two days ago", he said. He said he had no money for food and hoped to get to Orange, Texas soon so he could get his SSI check sent. Then he and Blackie could eat.
I had a business appointment to keep in Jackson so I handed Michael a twenty dollar bill and instructed him to buy something to eat. The office I was to visit was in a plaza adjacent to a Church's Fried Chicken and a supermarket, so I told him he could get something for Blackie too.
When I returned I was shocked to see a 3 piece chicken dinner on the ground which Blackie was eating furiously. Michael was eating another one, but the real kicker to me was that Michael had bought a bottle of Perrier bottled water for the dog. I was not angry but very curious.
"Michael, why did you buy a 3 piece chicken dinner for the Dog?"
He replied, "because if I got Blackie a 2 piece dinner, she would not think that was very fair."
"OK then," I almost laughed as I asked, "Why did you buy Blackie a bottle of Perrier?"
"Blackie does not like Coke, but she is my friend. I do not like just plain water, so I don't think she does either."
Now here was a man with heart! We might laugh at his antics but one could not laugh at his motives. I explained to Mike that he was headed only generally in the appropriate direction and asked if he would consider living in a house which rented for $150 per month if it was located in Oklahoma City, OK. (I had purchased 3 which I was remodeling and they were all empty)
"Is that farther than Orange, Texas", he asked.
"Yes," I replied"
"You've got a deal!", he shouted as he shot out an outstretched hand to "shake on it". "Did you hear that, Blackie, We got us a house!"
How could you help but love a guy like this, I thought, with a great big grin.
Michael paid his rent on the first of every month like clock work. By the fourth of every month he was flat broke. In the next two years I would buy Michael almost as much food as he would pay in rent. He did enjoy hard work, so in some ways he did return some of what was given to him, (if I do not count the cost of broken hammers and shovel handles) He had a sense of loyalty, and seemed grateful for the things I was able to help him with.
He liked garage sales, small stores and mail order items. I bought food for him until I finally had to ask for his check each month so I could make sure he had his own food. I had him open a savings account so he could cash his checks and save back a bit each month. He had been paying a pawn shop a 5% check cashing fee. I set up an envelope system for the payment of his bills. He loved getting an allowance each week.
As time wore on I had other tenants who became his neighbors. There was friction at times. Michael had a dispute with Roger and threatened to kill him with a knife. This went on for days on end to the point where Roger felt afraid and very uneasy. I confronted Michael with it and he accused me of taking Roger's side. I explained that they were BOTH my best friends and that if Roger was threatening Michael that I would speak to Roger in the same way. Michael persisted that his intention was to cut Roger, so I told him he had to leave. Michael left that day headed to Montana. He claimed he had a friend there who was loyal and true, unlike any of us. He never returned. I have no idea what became of him, but I will never forget the lessons he taught me about life, friendship, and the value of simplicity.
The Gilio's
I think my parents generally taught what the church taught without regard for their own scrutiny. I was shocked by my dad's first response to the following which was contrary to "establishment" thinking".
I had a friend while at Cedarville College named Ava Gilio. I was 18. She was a 16 year old high school student who I had met in town. "Townies" as they were called by the students, were rather looked down upon. I found her to be very intelligent and very open minded. She was not a romantic interest, just a friend. I spent considerable time helping her and her Mother work on their quaint little house, carpeting, etc. I was accepted by them as a family member at a time when I felt very much alone in life. I appreciated that very much, especially the many home cooked meals I ate while off campus
One day I was called into the dean's office and given an official notice and reprimand for maintaining the relationship which appeared to violate campus rules. My parents were notified. My Dad told the campus administrators it was none of their business who I chose to know, see, or visit and that they should mind their own business!
Ava had grown up in that town and had always been the subject of scorn because she was "inferior" as a "townie". Her attitude towards Christianity was certainly not one of acceptance or approval. One could hardly blame her! Over time I got very busy with school and we drifted apart. In a chance meeting on the street, I asked her one day a couple years later what she did believe in and she looked at me and said, " I believe in YOU!" . Then she turned and walked away. I never saw her again. She just disappeared.
It is funny about some of the people we have known. I wonder what has happened to so many of them!
