I have come to the conclusion that its time I part ways with Columbus Man. For a variety of reasons, I need to spend my time elsewhere. For one, I haven’t been studying the Word as I should be, that changes today. The Word is my life, and living by it is now my life goal. Secondly, I want to spend as much time helping people as I possibly can. That takes time. Time I need to better organize. But let me try to clear up a few things here. Some people believe I am Columbus Man. I am not. CM is one of my best friends. I would trust him with my life. Some people think that CM14, CM 56, COSMO, and Baby CM are me as well, and the names are made up to appear we have a staff. Not true at all. These names were used so WE could tell who posted what. At times I posted as CM but he could tell it was me because, number one, he didnt write it, and number two, most everything is spelled correctly. lol Now I know some will doubt what I am saying. That would really matter if I cared. I dont. I know the truth. Because of the confusion and the way we do things, there seems to be a negative air about CM. That negativity has affected my life, as well as those around me. I have so-called friends accusing me of things I havent done, and I have become weary of it. I fully believe in the mission of this page. I believe we need Columbus Man. Every town needs a Columbus Man. We help a lot of people in a lot of ways. And by we, I mean you. YOU are Columbus Man. If you read closely, you can tell that we are different people here. For one, CM hates Mayors. He hated Fred and he hates Kristen. I, on the other hand, am very fond of them both, and feel they do, and did, great jobs as Mayor. Both have always treated me as a friend. A quick story as an example why I feel this way: When Fred was running his last campaign for Mayor, I told him I would like to serve on a board or commission, if he needed someone. He said if I win the election, I will look into it. In the world of politics, you learn to hear what others say that they think you want to hear. I never gave it another thought. Two months after he won, Fred called me and asked if I would serve on the Columbus Animal Control Commission. And I did, for 6 or 7 years. Thats a man of his word. And Kristen. After she won her election in November, our house of worship had a pancake benefit breakfast for a girl in December. Shortly after it started, in walked Kristen. No advanced notice. Nobody with her. No fanfare. Just a woman walking in to help support a good cause. The election was over. She wasnt in office yet. She had no reason, politically, to come to the benefit. To me, thats class. Kristen Brown is one classy lady. Another huge difference between CM and I is that he believes homeless people are homeless by choice. He thinks everyone, almost, that asks for help is a con artist and a mooch. Hes wrong. And I tell him often. But he hates the stuff posted on his page. So he set up side pages to post it on and then share to his page, and he hates it and deletes it. Oddly, I met CM that way. I had a gal write in and say she couldnt afford Christmas for her three very young daughters. So I put the word out. Later that night, CM told me to go look at my porch. He had brought over enough toys that the woman’s car couldnt hold them all in one trip. And hes a guy that says those asking for help are moochers. Helping people is a love for me. Last winter, I ran into a woman that has helped people her entire life. And she has a knack for getting things done. Together, we have helped organize a group we call CHIRP. Its an acronym for Columbus Homeless Independency & Resiliency Program. We have gathered together some great folks and we are on our way to fulfilling a much needed dream. The idea is to feed and find a place for homeless to lay their head, like other homeless groups do. But oh, it is so much more. Now, this isn’t a theory. It is a tested procedure that Linda has been doing for years. We not only plan to feed the hungry and find them a place to sleep, but we plan to work with them and try to make them never be homeless again. We want to help them find a job. We want to help them find transportation. We want to help them realize they aren’t a throw away in this society. If addiction is an issue, we want to encourage them to find a way to stop that addiction. But we aren’t going to refuse to help someone because they have one. And people make mistakes in life. If that mistake is considered a felony, it stays with them their entire life. Felons get hungry and cold too. A felony won’t get you a refusal from us either. We can’t change your past but we can sure try to help improve your future. That’s what CHIRP is all about. I would like to see a shelter set up where we can take everyone that needs a bite to eat and a place to sleep for the night. I would like to have a thrift store, where paying for items is an option, not a requirement. A food pantry that has a problem with storage space. A place set up where people can come for advice and counsel. CHIRP is my dream come true. We tried years ago to get a shelter set up and the attitude around here was we didn’t have any homeless. It wasn’t an issue. All the while, our school system was tracking how many of the students were homeless. Since then, attitudes have changed. Facts have hit the doubters in the face. People are going hungry in Columbus. A lot of people. It isn’t only homeless that is our concern. There are many people who have a place to sleep but can’t afford the utilities or the rent. They can’t afford to buy groceries. We want to try to help them as well. That takes money. We currently have a booth at the county fair. In building 3. Stop by and say hi. Maybe drop a few coins or bills in the collection bottle. We are also having a bake sale at the Tenth St. Walmart on the 19th. Next Saturday. It starts at 10:00 and runs until everything is gone. If you want to help, please bake some cookies or cupcakes, whatever you like to make, and bring it by or ask and I can pick it up. Then come in and buy it back. Lol I am making baklava and maybe some cupcakes. Not sure yet. A week later, on the 26th we are having a golf scramble at Greenbelt golf course at 1:00. We need golfers. We want teams of four. The fee is $200 per team. We also need sponsors for the holes. Get your business sign on a hole for $100. Contact me for details. Again, my time and energy will be spent on CHIRP now instead of the CM page. My name will be on whatever I post. You will find me most on my page, https://facebook/bob.freeman.75 Or on the CHIRP page, https://facebook/chirpindiana?fref=ts I hope you visit often. If you need to ask for help in any way, send to me and I will post on my page. If you want to help some of those who ask, please visit my page often. We have a homeless and needy problem here. It’s time we do something about it. The existing agencies help a lot of people. Due to rules and policies, a lot of people fall through the cracks. We want to catch those folks and help them in any way we can. We do things outside the box at times, but it seems to be working. We appreciate your support. It takes a village to raise a child. We have a lot of children we need to help raise. Thanks for your time on this rant, and I will be around….
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 02:59:47 +0000
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