A Series on Profound People: John (Gus)

Hello all -

I was thinking this afternoon that I would share a bit about the people I meet while I’m here at Holden Village. Anyway, the first person of interest. He’s a fellow kitchen worker, about 60 years old. His name is John. Working originally out of Spokane as a soup kitchen cook for the homeless, he came to Holden to volunteer for a few months, and will be here for only a few more weeks. His street name (used in the soup kitchen, primarily) is Gus.

I got to talking with him a few times over the past few days, both in the kitchen and outside on the Ark during my off time. He’s an interesting character: multiple wives, divorces, and he has a certain street-edge to his persona. He grew up in Willmar, Minnesota, before moving to Spokane, Washington in his teen years. Just before entering college, he was offered a scholarship to go to radio broadcast school, as he was told he had a great “FM voice”. However, he told me that instead of pursuing his passion of drama, he held a “more practical job” as an optometrist during his working years, which he tells me was more “therapy in an armchair than anything else”, and his career “was anything but linear or traditional”. John later attended culinary school in his mid-fifties, before transitioning to soup kitchen work. In the Holden kitchen, he tends to keep to himself, (letting the new people learn for themselves), but will always come over and help if you need it. While I still don’t know all about him, he has taught me invaluable tips in the kitchen (dicing onions and making hummus, haha), as well as for life:

We were chatting on day outside on the Ark, and the conversation turned to why I had come to Holden. He said that most people come to Holden to figure out their life, and he said, “Dean, you don’t need to own a Ferrari or have a mansion. Live close to the ground – it’s simpler; better that way. A kind heart and a still soul is all you need, and you have that. You don’t need to make it rich or impress the world with your smarts. Stay close to the ones you love, and live close to the ground.”

Live close to the ground. Coming from a man who lives to serve the homeless, who doesn’t have a lot of possessions, and spends his time getting to really know people, I think I’ll take his advice.

I leave you with this: Like John, how can you live closer to the ground? How do you keep a kind heart and a still soul?

Anyway. Enough for now – I’m going to go back to my house and do some more reading. Tomorrow’s an off day for me, which I’m thankful for. Looking forward to more conversations, coffee, and books.

From the Village,

Dean