The Man Who Lived In The Woods

I used to see him as I drove down the highway.
I would see him picking up the trash along the road.
He kept a large area of the state road completely clean.
He sold whatever trash he could to junk dealers and neatly packaged the rest in plastic bags.

The money he received was not used for anything extravagant.
The money bought him a cup of coffee.
The man loved his coffee.
The man was homeless and lived in the woods along the side of the roadway.

He chose to keep to himself and never accepted handouts.
His home on the side of the road consisted of tarps and an ever present clothesline.
At Christmas time, the man would hang gold tinsel and silver string on the tree branches.
Since he kept the road clean, he was offered a job with a road crew, which he refused.

The man’s actual name was Joe though he was lovingly referred to as Homeless Joe.
A nearby mall was one place Joe frequented along with a nearby convenience store.
On most days, you would see the man sipping his coffee.
He would also be seen carrying a sketch book in which he was always drawing.

Joe never showed anyone his sketches.
Once, he did leave his sketchbook behind.
Inside were sketches of landscapes, maps, and airplanes.
Other pages were filled with sketches of angels.

Joe was interviewed by the local newspaper in 1990.
People got glimpses of the real Joe when they read that article.
Joe graduated from high school in 1949; he went on to college and studied engineering.
Joe served with the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Joe told the reporter that he had been touring the country on his bicycle since 1981.
He decided to settle in the area in the woods along the side of the road.
Joe road his bike from Wilmington, DE to Lancaster, PA to Harrisburg, PA.
He would stop at Red Cross missions if he ran out of money.

Joe had many jobs through the years such as milk man and pin setter in a bowling alley.
He was a mechanic and even worked for an oil company in the 1960s.
He had no wives or children and no known relatives.
Joe bothered no one and most people were very kind to him.

Joe was known for wearing a cap, carrying a sketch book in a plastic bag, and drinking coffee.
Joe’s life was simple yet some people took offense to his presence along the highway.
Joe was asked to move once when the state put in a new exit ramp.
Joe quietly moved north up the road and set up his home again.

People took for granted the service that Joe performed as he picked up all the trash.
In 2002, someone contacted the police to say they had not seen Joe in about a week.
When the police went to the area where Joe made his home, they found Joe dead.
After an autopsy, it was determined that Joe died of a heart attack.

The community was sad since Joe had literally become part of the landscape.
People went to a nearby convenience store and offered money for Joe’s funeral expenses.
A bucket that was placed on the counter and needed to be emptied three times that first day.
A nearby cemetery donated a burial plot and marker so Joe could have a proper burial.

A funeral home donated graveside services and a casket.
Joe had been part of the community for 15 years.
Most people considered him to be one of their own.
There were others who complained about Joe’s smell or his presence in the mall each day.

After Joe’s death, the trash along the state road started to build up again.
Joe was missed.
That little thing he did to quietly support himself also blessed others.
Many people regretted that they never asked Joe for one of his sketches.

I thought about Joe today when I passed the area where he used to live.
I saw some debris on the roadway, which never would have been there if Joe was alive.
Where Joe’s tarp and clothesline used to be, new trees have been planted.
Joe left his mark by picking up the trash that others carelessly disposed.

Joe asked for nothing.
Yet people in the town stepped up to give Joe something.
Joe never asked for anything, yet people wanted to give something to him.
The town wanted to make sure that Joe was buried with dignity.

A small group of mourners came to Joe’s funeral and shared their stories.
A woman and her 10 year old daughter had often seen Joe at the convenience store.
She and her daughter saw Joe on a bitterly cold Thanksgiving Day.
When they returned home, the little girl was crying about Joe being alone and cold.

The woman went back and invited Joe to come to their home for Thanksgiving dinner.
To her surprise, Joe agreed to come to her home and sleep in the basement.
The family set up a cot and a television for Joe.
Joe would stay on one condition: the door had to be kept unlocked so he could leave at any time.

In the morning when the family woke up, Joe was gone.
Joe went back to his home of 15 years.
Joe went back to his home in the woods along the side of the road.
For a few hours, Joe got a glimpse of a family as he shared the Thanksgiving meal with them.

The king will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

As I walked down the street of a charming little town last night, I saw a storefront.
The name on the store seemed to call to me.
Matthew 25 Thrift Shop.
How very appropriate.

I thought of Joe.