JUNE 9 "POKEMON - FIVE STRANGERS - A CHANCE MEETING - AND A NEED FOR PRAYER"

 I have a story to tell you about Pokémon, two older people let's call E and M, a 24-year-old young man, my daughter and me.

Five total strangers.

There is life going on out there - that we know nothing about - until we open our eyes.

I mentioned last week my grandson was into Pokémon - again.  Of course, I imagine all of you have heard about Pokémon and your kids were probably in it too.  GS was in it when he was younger, but through the years his cards are gone.

A few years ago, around covid time, the Pokémon company put these machines out - 2021.  Our machines are in the Kroger Grocery Store.  I have shopped Kroger for decades, but I had never noticed the machines. I come to find out that I am walking right past them and never noticed them.

Apparently, Pokémon had risen again, and I was clueless - I really don't care about Pokémon to tell you the truth.  I still wouldn't care - but my grandson is back into them and he cares, and what he cares about I care about.

And he's not the only one.  ALL AGES stop by this machine - all races - all genders.

Daughter and I are getting quite a Pokémon education.  

These machines put out product maybe two times an hour.

Sometimes there is a skip. 

If a person sneaks up and goes around you and touches the screen while you are standing there, they get the chance to get the product first!  Very Sneaky.

You never know when the machine is going to drop.

There is a ton of cheating going on.

There have been actual fights and arrests.

You can look in that little circle camera and if you know what you are doing you can see what product is in the machine.

They try to jam the machine.

It has gotten so rough the company is not dispensing any more big boxes - just the small ones and the packs.

These kids line up at Target, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart to try to get the boxes.

IT'S EXPENSIVE - VERY EXPENSIVE!

IT IS TIME CONSUMING (I am retired and daughter has summer off).

But how do these people all have the money and time to stand at these machines?

I tell you this has been the learning experience of a lifetime.

Daughter and I did it a lot to try to get things for the grandson.  Now I am retired and she is off work for the summer - we have the time.  We are spending grandson's money which he does have a job and works for.

Two of all the people we met - were kind of untrustworthy I guess you would say.  We just didn't trust their story.  It didn't add up.

But I have to say - for the most part - the people we have met - mostly young men - have been fantastic and very fair.  If they are first and two items come up - they usually take one and let us have one.

We do the same - we never took everything that was available.  Some do.

They explain things to us.  How to play. What to look for.

I am really happy to see this.

This young man is 24.  He was a salesman and could take time off work to play. 

He was extremely nice.

We started talking.

Sometimes you have to wait for the machine to produce. A half hour at a time.

He is a college graduate, has a fiancé, a good job, goes to church down the street, and I was really impressed with him.

Needless to say, we have kind of had some fun Pokémon-ing.  LOL 

WHILE WE WERE WAITING THIS DAY FOR THE MACHINE TO DROP< TALKING TO THAT YOUNG MAN . . . we started talking to an elderly man:

This below photo is AI.  All the machines are in the front of Kroger before you go in where the carts are.  This man was sitting in a motorized cart waiting- and when we were talking, we were talking about the past and he was nodding his head. So, we started talking to him.

He was kind of sad - said his kids would not let them hold their baby because he had a pacemaker -??

He reminisced - he was from Jamaca and said the first time he saw a real photo of himself was when he was 11 years old.  He was my age.

Then a very handicapped women came in - she could barely walk and she came and sat down beside him in the entrance way in the motorized carts and started talking too.

I think she only had two teeth at the bottom. 

They knew each other.

She started telling us her story.  She only had $400 of her $500 rent.  

They both said they were at the end of their rope.  That life wasn't worth living anymore.

It was so sad.

Of course, you don't know what you can believe or not.

Daughter and I had no idea what to do.

But here are young people and us, buying Pokémon stuff and here were two

seniors barely able to make ends meet.

I felt kind of bad to tell you the truth.

SWe told them God loves them and life WAS worth living and that we would pray for them.

This got me to thinking.

1. I learned about Pokémon again.

2.Met the most interesting people in line - mostly nice. No matter the differences in us

3.Realized again, there is a lot of suffering and sadness in the world.

To end the story of the meeting of these five people - the two older people asked for prayer. 

Of course, we said yes.

So, we are praying and I am asking you if you would send up a prayer for E and M.

God knows who it is.

My advice is to take the time and try to start a conversation with someone else if you can. 

Open your mind and learn.

There is a big world out there with a lot of interesting information out there. 

We also saw this man walking out of Kroger.

WHY?

I will never ever understand, but I think he needs prayers too.

M's Corner

Courtesy of Madsnapper

Her first swimming party. 

They put her toes in the water, and it was cold, but they only stayed a minute.

She is a real trouper.

So far, her favorite food is sweet potatoes.

She goes to the allergist this week.

I love you M.

Love, Nona

I will be staying with a friend having surgery this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so I probably will not read blogs those days.