All posts by joanneinbiglake

Stories, The Baboon Congress

A Stranger At The Door

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Today’s post comes from Joanne in Big Lake

Ours wasn’t the first door she knocked on during a frigid Minnesota evening.  Bedraggled, vulnerable but still pretty, 19-yr old Emily showed up on our doorstep, desperately looking for help.  How she ended up in Big Lake is a mystery and the last 3 days were a fuzzy high for her.  Kicked out of her parent’s house a year before, she was another sad story of a homeless teen with no job, no money, no place to live and an admitted meth amphetamine user.  Even her wallet and ID were left somewhere else.

All she had was a phone that had no service or number.  She needed a Wi-Fi in order to contact friends via Messenger to find a place to go.  My husband happened to be home because he was sick and left work early.  I was busy making supper, so Jim answered her knock on the door and brought her into our hearts.  I was suspicious, but Jim has a big heart and talked to her to figure out what she needed.

After a several minutes of talking to her, she did not want to see the police or go to the doctor to be checked out.  After giving her some snacks, Jim drove her to a nearby Coborns store where they have free public Wi-Fi, and she eventually contacted a trusted friend with a place to stay.  I called a youth homeless shelter to find out what else we could do or where she could go.  They had an emergency bed available for the night in Brooklyn Park, but we could not make her go.

So Jim drove Emily to her friend’s house in Blaine, listened to her story and showed great kindness with a non-judgmental attitude.  I prayed and cried for her and hope for the best for her.  Unfortunately, I fear she has a brutal and possibly short life ahead of her until she makes some serious changes.

When have you done a good deed for someone and wondered about the outcome?

The Baboon Congress

My Journey to Black Belt & Beyond

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Today’s post comes from Joanne Jensen

In April of 2007, I was looking for a quality, individual sport for my 10-yr old son with Autism to help with strength, discipline, focus and socialization. So that month, my two younger boys attended karate together at the Dojo Karate in Monticello.

After watching a few of their classes, I decided I wanted to try it because it looked like fun and good exercise. I still remember my first couple classes when 20 jumping jacks would get me huffing and puffing. Even more so, I clearly remember getting my white belt at my third class. It was just me and Mr. Z, the owner/head instructor – a short, handsome, dynamic Hispanic man. He had me punching a couple small shields like a boxer pounds a punching bag; right-left, left-right, right-left, left-right. I found a rhythm and intensely focused on getting faster and hitting harder. Soon, I was in that sacred place athletes aspire to – the Zone. It was just me, my hands, my body and the punching shields. I was vaguely aware of Mr. Z, his eyes seeming to go wide as he watched me.

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After presenting me with my white belt, he asked me if I had ever done martial arts before. No, I answered – I was just a dancer in college and sports in high school. Now, I was just an overweight, gray-haired, middle-aged matron who just found an exciting past-time. I’ve called my karate obsession my mid-life crisis. Some folks may start affairs, buy sexy sport cars or have plastic surgery, but I jumped into a body-pounding, intense sport geared for young people.

Many evenings after class, I was so thrilled with learning weapon forms, full contact sparring and brutal defense techniques that I could barely sleep at night. I immediately started competing in tournaments and found I usually placed First in my division and age bracket (not much competition!). Although competing was nerve-wracking, I relished watching the black belts perform high level weapon forms, creative musical forms and lightning quick sparring matches at the tournaments I attended.

In October 2013, I achieved the rank of First Degree Black Belt. On Saturday, September 26, 2015 (at the age of 57), I received my Second Degree Black Belt. In three years, I hope to get my 3rd Degree Black Belt. It has not been easy on my body or my budget.

I’ve exercised myself to the point of exhaustion many times, have a couple injuries and some arthritis in my knees; but I keep going because I can’t disappoint my instructor or myself. I love the challenge, the variety, my classmates and my instructors.

Describe a challenge you found completely captivating.