The Three Runaways

She was only fifteen years of age when she screamed “I’ve had enough!”

She packed a suitcase full of clothes – to run away can’t be that tough.

“I can’t face the problems facing me, ev’ry time I look downstairs and see

That all the problems for this young queen start with the two that bore me.”

So she walked down to the Greyhound station to buy her ticket and run away,

But the bus wasn’t leaving for four more hours, so she found an old café.

He was thirty-one years of age when he said he’d had enough.

He drowned his sorrows in alcohol to run away from all his stuff.

“I can’t face the problems facing me, ev’ry time I look around and see

That all the problems I can see may just have started with me.”

So he headed towards the corner bar where they always knew his name,

But the bar wasn’t open quite that soon, so he hit the old café.

I was forty-seven years of age when I knew I’d had enough.

A gun and a bullet would do the trick – running away from life ain’t tough.

I can’t face the problems facing me whenever I look in the mirror and see

That all those troubles floating free look an awful lot like me.

So I took the car to the bad part of town where death wouldn’t be a big deal,

But first I stopped at a seedy café to eat my final meal.

The man behind the counter looked about thirty years of age.

His face, it held a short brown beard, his apron fell below his waist.

He wiped the counter off and filled our cups with coffee, or pop,

We never noticed the pitchers he poured from never wavered from the top.

He took a long slow look at the girl, and asked, “Why the long face?”

He had a very slight accent that for my life I couldn’t place.

She sighed the longest sigh I’d heard and said, “It’s about my dad.

He claims HE was in high school once, but I suspect he never had.”

The man behind the counter said, “You think no one could understand you?

You don’t suppose Dad was trying to say he could see your point of view?

You don’t think he’s home crying his eyes out, his little girl ran away?

‘Respect and honor your Mom and Dad’, that’s what the Bible would say.”

He wiped wet mascara from her cheek, and said, “Do what the Lord would do:

And never forget, no matter how bad it gets – your Father will always love you.”

The drunk took a swig from his hip flask for strength, then he said, 

      “You’ve got some nerve!

To tell that girl what her daddy done feel? 

       Maybe she got what she deserved!”

The waiter turned towards the alcoholic, and said, 

      “You mean, like you?

Your wife took your children, left you to your booze, 

       and you think you deserve that, too.”

Before he could answer, “How’d you know that?”, he realized the man was right.

The liquor wasn’t his friend no more – it was the reason he’s alone at night.

So he looked up, saw those deep blue eyes, and the gaze returned never waved.

And in that stare, he came to realize, that he could still be saved.

He’d gotten so lost that he barely heard, “Friend: do you have a church to attend?

That would be the best place to start and heal the parts you have to mend.”

As lifted as the two of them were, I was too far down to care.

Figured I had a date with a pearly gate, so I eased slowly off my chair.

But before I could even turn for the door, he said, “Hey friend… Where’s the gun?

You might think that I’d never understand your woes – but you’re not the only one.”

He looked to the two to reassure me that they were too occupied to hear,

And said, “I think you’ll find all the charges will drop if you come out in the clear.”

The look on my face must’ve been one of shock, ‘cause he added, “I know, my friend;

The money you stole you didn’t take out of greed, but more of a means to an end.

There’s a better way to feed your kids than taking cash that don’t belong to you,

And there’s a better way to deal with the guilt than to blow a hole clean through

Those brains the good Lord blessed you with, or the heart He gave you, too.

Remember, my child, God always loves you – even when you’re not sure YOU do.”

I don’t know if the glow I felt matched the ones my new friends had,

But the smile the man gave me made feel as proud as if he were my Dad.

We all thanked him, and blessed him, and turned to walk outside,

And to my two new friends I strangely thought to ask, “Hey – can I give you a ride?”

We got to the cashier and the man next to me says, “Y’know, this one I’VE got.

Ma’am, I know I speak for all three of us when I say, y’oughta pay that guy a lot!”

She looked at us funny when she took his money, and said – 

      “We don’t hire men here.”

And sure enough, when we three looked back…

      there was no sign He’d ever been there.

Now, you might want to hear that I got my new bud hooked up at the local AA,

And that he turned around and found enough cash for me, my debts to repay,

And you might want to hear that we both became big brothers to the runaway teen,

But that would be proof – and proof denies faith –

and faith’s required, for what we’ve seen.

                                                                                                -lyrics and music by gps