5:00 a.m. - Carol - Met Bob in front of Uncommon Ground. The birds are all awake and singing. The sky is glorious. Two older people walked by … very friendly.
5:30 a.m. - Very few people out. Garbage truck ready to start the day. Michele's dog, Gabe, is with us. We're in City Hall Park. Poor Gabe - whining, seems a little spooked. Backing away from the fountain. He is very agitated. Tail between his legs. What does he sense?
5:45 a.m. - Swung back to park. Once we left the park, Gabe was fine. He was perky and had his ears up - tail no longer between legs. Now that we're back, he is whining again. He will not touch the water in fountain. (Michele says he always drinks wherever there is water.) Hmmm.
6:00 a.m. - We're on upper Church Street. We prayed along the way at Michele's place of work - that peace would abound. Have seen more people up and out: some seem homeless - have satchels, etc. The "flavor" of upper Church does not seem as eerie (as Michele put it) even though the building across from where we are sitting was once a Masonic Temple. The sun is starting to grace the tops of the buildings. God's creation is just so beautiful. The birds are truly amazing - God has given them the instinct to do what they need to do for survival. They truly don't worry about tomorrow.
6:15 a. m - Michele - It's a beautiful sunny morning. More people out on Church St. now, mostly men. The tops of the buildings are aglow in the sunlight. A man jogs by. A boy riding his bike on his paper route. Gabe is more relaxed now as we continue to walk Church St.
6:30 a.m. - We're in front of Spirit Dancer Books & Gifts on Winooski Ave., reading the notes on the window - an advertisement for witchcraft. Gabe is whining, tail between his legs and shivering. City is waking up. More traffic. Street sweepers/vacuum going down So. Winooski Ave. Prayed for my husband John's workplace (Burlington Free Press), the peace of the Lord be upon John, and those he works with sense this peace.
6:45 a.m. - Carol - Michele & I are recapping what we've observed. We are talking about how lonely & cut off the City Hall Park is. It feels (?) sad (don't trust feelings, but…). We are going to move on back to Uncommon Ground. Ran into a woman who really loved Gabe. Praying that she will fall in love with the Creator as much as His creation.
6:50 a.m. - Talked with a girl who had a 3-month old Akita-Shepherd puppy. The girl was from Toronto. Had just come up from NYC and making her way North, back to Toronto. Pray that she will be safe as she is hoping to "hop a freight train" to get home. Pray that she will meet only kind people. Pray that she, too, will come to know Christ and any Christians she comes into contact with will love her where she is, for who she is, and in a non-judgmental way. God, keep her safe.