we are taught to fear....and rightfully so, for the world can be a fearful place, confused, chaotic...my parents taught me the fear that one needs for survival and i too have taught my children...
when i first moved to this small town there was a 'fixture' of a human being wandering the streets...selling his poems, artwork and rocks downtown...my oldest then 12 was filled in by his friends as to who this man was...certainly somebody that you would 'fear' if your eyes fell upon him without any information...my son was told he was 'safe', he was just joshua...with his wares out for all to see on the sidewalk my son would on occasion stop and buy one of his stories, years later he still holds on to them, for joshua wrote them, reason enough...
when my youngest was around 4 we were walking the quaint downtown and there was joshua in one of his usual spots, blanket spread out, selling his rocks...eli was taken aback, and scared...i held his hand tighter and said it's ok, it's joshua, there is nothing to fear, let's go look at his rocks...so we did, eli knelt to the ground carefully picking up each rock and looking for sparkle and rolling it in his hands...joshua, was smiling, friendly and telling him in length about each rock ...it put eli at ease...as eli picked the 'best' rock that he could find i handed eli the money to give to joshua and we walked away...
about a year ago he was going through his rocks and pulled one out and said this is 'joshua's rock', like his brother before him, it made an impact on his mind, his heart and spirit...when he sees him walking along the road he turns to watch the unknown man, still curious about him, but no longer scared...it was a lesson to be learned, do not judge a book by it's cover, everybody counts, everybody is special and everybody has a gift...
but as the story goes, the town is saddened that joshua isn't here in his rightful home...you can read below...
Both the ASU campus & Boone community have been affected by a man who has come to be known has Joshua Watauga. He is famous for selling his rocks & stories on King Street for many years now. The stories & rumors surrounding him, however, are the real mystery. For a man who means so much to this community, we seem to know so little.Joshua collapsed behind a restaurant sometime in the past 3-4 weeks and spent some time in Watauga Medical Center. He has since been transferred to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He is currently in stable condition but will require full-time state-supported care. According to the people @ Wake in charge of his case, He will more or less become a "ward of the state" & there will be no control over what inevitably happens to him. PLEASE do not let Joshua get lost in the system like so many do. PLEASE invite all of your friends so that we can bring awareness to this cause & hopefully get Joshua placed in Boone or somewhere nearby until a place in Boone becomes available. Both Appalachian & the town of Boone do a great job of creating a sense of solidarity and community. Many of us view Joshua as a very vital member of that community and promoter of that solidarity. Hopefully we can now band together & help out one of our own who is in need.Thanks so much!!'
you see the town has of course tried to help joshua throughout the years, like any town would ...the citizens have tried to help him individually, as all caring people would...but joshua helps himself, he lives outside on these mountains...provides for himself through the selling of his work, and it is always an uplifting site when you see him in the spring, but you are forced to think to yourself, thank God joshua made it through another winter, for you know in your own reality you wouldn't have...joshua is living his life, his way...
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