April 5^th

As I said before, I do not document every single detail here, so I have to let you know that I have been having issues with a certain man who lives in the Slabs. Lets call him……….. Joel.

We first met Joel when we started attending church with Pastor Dave. Joel is a book smart man. At first I thought he was pretty genuine. He knew the bible inside and out, and seemed to be a sincere kind man. NOT! Well… he might be kind sometimes… and he might be sincere… but I have come to learn the hard way that he is also hiding a vindictive, dark and nasty heart. In all fairness, over time I have figured out he probably has mental health issues.

After George and Doug left to drive another few hundred miles in search of a home for Connie, she and I spend the day after church hanging around at the unit drinking coffee and having a lot of laughs! Andrew was there for most of the day too, telling us some great stories and amusing us with his incredible wit. I really enjoyed days like this!

People would pass bye, visit for a while, then after they left some more would pop by. Even Jingle Bells…as I called him after he walked around wearing a Jesters hat with bells on, would pop bye for quick chats. His real name is Doc. Correction….Doc 425 or something because so many over the years have gone by Doc that they assign numbers after the name as a fond Slab joke. Anyhow Jungle bells stopped by then disappeared for the day as he usually does. Quite an interesting fellow.

I made grilled cheese sandwiches for a bunch of people, and can not count the numbers of coffees or water I handed out. On occasion the guys would text Janet to let us know where they were. Around mid day they were stuck in hours of traffic somewhere around the LA area. No units they had looked at thus far were any good.

As the afternoon faded and the sun began to slip over the horizon, Joel pops out from behind my unit. SURPRISE!

Now after knowing him for a bit from Church, I began to see a pattern of how he took over the teachings by constantly interrupting Pastor, and dazzling us all with his knowledge of scripture. It was beginning to get aggravating. I know at one point during one if his rants, I nicely asked him if he could just let the Pastor speak. That really did not go over too well, but nothing much became of it.

Now I had heard stories from many people about him standing on the roof of the blue church and claiming to be Jesus. Actually we had heard many stories, but you have to be careful what you believe. Well.. I was about to learn what this dude was capable of. A couple of weeks prior he had walked by our unit on the way to church and yelled out that he saw through us and that we were evil, gossipers and not of God.

So on this day, Joel, and apparently been sitting behind the unit listening to Connie, Andrew and I joke around, and something we said must have set him off. Doug was gone, and it was a perfect time I guess in his mind to come at me.

Without getting into tons of detail, he basically accused Connie and I of gossiping all day, then I was a harlot and a heathen, and Andrew was wicked for spending time with a married woman when her husband was away. I asked repeatedly for him to get out of my camp…. but that only made things worse. According to him, God had sent him to cleanse us of our sins…so to speak, and he did not have to leave because God sent him.

He was frightening, and to make things worse, he was pushing every button I had. For a brief moment he walked away, but then he returned and things got way out of control. HE made the mistake of getting into my face in a most threatening manner, and he stepped into my space forcing me to inch my way up against the unit to get away from him.

So for good or bad, I lost it. My shouting to leave me alone and leave my camp I am sure you could hear clear across the Slabs. He did not really yell. He spoke softly, wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise, and kept an icy stare fixated on me at all times.

I am not sure how I managed to get around him, but once again I ran and got Janet’s phone and called the police.

In a short time the police pulled in, and Joel disappeared into darkness and desert bush. Although they looked for him, he was no where to be found.

So after what I thought was a very peaceful and safe time at the Slabs, I now have an enemy. One I consider a big threat and will not back down from should he desire to have another altercation. If he is mentally ill, as I suspect, I pray he gets the help he needs. Obviously this man is broken and something is going on.

He will not keep me from the Slabs… he will not scare me away. If he tries anything, people we have come to know have said they have our backs. Word gets around the Slabs pretty fast…. so I am of the opinion that he will most likely leave us alone. If that is not the case, then I WILL have him arrested or the Slabbers will take care of it. He offends a lot of people here, and has no friends that I have seen. I wish him no harm.

I regret that I tore into him the way I did… but then again, maybe it was time someone stood up to him. Shame on you Joel for all of the horrible accusations you made! Regardless it’s done. Lets hope that’s the end of it.

Good thing Santana had not been there because she would have come through the unit window for him. I will have something to protect myself when we return next time. Just in case.

This was a wake up call to not get too comfortable in the Slabs. Things happen. Just saying. People out here can disappear, and there have been many suspicious deaths and murders. I don’t plan on being one of them… nice to know we not only have friends here, but an army of angels!

Cheers for now 🙂

Sherry, Doug, Chicago and Journey