Main Street

Spending for a Rainy Day

by Lynne Bolton—Minnesota

It had been raining on and off in South Minneapolis, and by about 6 pm I hadn’t had much luck yet — forget about getting any dues-paying members, folks weren’t even interested in listening to who I was. I was down near Minnehaha Creek, when the rain really started to pick up. I knocked on the door and a woman in her 40′s answered it. Inside were 4 kids all waiting for dinner as their frazzled mom listened to me give my rap. I was trying to be quick, as the kids were all trying to get her attention as well.

She told me that her big concerns were health care and jobs, as her husband (who did consulting IT work) had lost his big client, and she was staying at home with the kids. After I was finished, she said she wanted to give, but couldn’t do that much. I told her to give what she was comfortable with, and she contributed $60 – saying that she wished it could be more, because the issues were so important – to her, but also to everyone.

I left and went back into the rain, feeling better about what I was doing, and knowing I was appreciated.