Feed the Lot (A Dream that I wish was real)

In a dream, I’m the manager of a catering company. We get an order to cater The Cattleman’s Association Annual Stockman Gathering. 800 people.

Spaghetti for Everyone!

I’m thinking, wow, 800 people! That’s a lot of people — I didn’t even know there was a group called that, much less that there were so many of them!

So I gather supplies, find a venue, conscript other caterers in town to help, and at last we are all set and ready to open the doors.

We’re standing at our tables in the huge room, waiting for the people to come in. Ten, fifteen, thirty, sixty, 80.

And no one else comes in.

I’m sweating. I look again at the order — it’s for 80, not 800.

Oh god, did I ever blow it!

I’m thinking, OK, how do I make this either go away (not possible) or change this magnum lemon into maximal lemonade?

I call a friend who has a radio show, and he agrees to send out an announcement I’d written up, and to share it with the other local stations.

Within a half hour, people start straggling in. Scruffy, but combed and gussied up as much as they could get. Homeless people! Indigents! Yeah! That’s what I wanted!

I seat them all as if they are royalty, calling them sir and madam, pulling their chairs out for them, serving them graciously. They’re in shock, but very much appreciating.

The ten-piece dinner band is playing old hits.

People are dancing on the dance floor, twirling and bowing and swaying.

The Cattleman people don’t know these other folks weren’t invited as part of the original party — they’re just talking and dancing with them as nice as can be.

Everyone has a beautiful time.

At midnight they all leave.

As I lie in bed that night, thinking about how it all went, and I hear, The Feed Lot.

I hear, feed the homeless. Buses. Good food.

I hear, drive to them, instead of them coming to a shelter or food station.

In the morning, I quit my job. They were going to fire me anyway. 800 people, what were you thinking?

Well, I was thinking, feed the people.

So I get a business license, buy a huge bus, and set it up for catering. I think, I’ll call it The Feed Lot.

Then I think, wait a minute, these are people, not cows! Let’s call it Feed the Lot.

So I make a sign and cook the food and fill up the bus and go to where the homeless are thickest, and feed them.

Night after night. Just dinner. So they can go to their nests warm and full.

Soon, my friend the radio guy calls me and wants an interview — why am I doing this? Who is paying for it? How can people help?

Donations start to come in.

I buy another bus, hire more help. Go to more locations.

I open a business banking account and hire an accountant and book-keeper.

A billionaire gives us a million bucks, and promises more if we can help more people in other states. I arrange for 3 buses each in ten other cities.

The billionaire wants to help people get back on their feet, get homes and jobs and fill dreams.

I open clothing outlets — Lot and Lottie’s Clothing Store and Exchange, where people can get good used clothes for cheap, and even good business attire for those who are going for interviews or a new job.

I arrange for tutoring, training, and job coaching.

A dentist offers pro bono services, as do local doctors.

A real estate guy I know offers to fix up and make old, vacant houses available for people who are getting jobs, with long-term, very cheap rents.

A local lawyer offers pro bono services to help people get their affairs in order.

Mothers and even grannies offer day care and tutoring for kids and parents who need it, all across the country.

All ten cities’ food buses are now fully equipped and in nightly service, and people want even more.

All ten cities have Lot and Lottie stores, and more local services are opening.

Feed the Lot has become a huge, national chain of kindness, good quality food, and warmth, filling bellies and hearts, and helping homeless people feel dignified and human again.

I wake up.

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After I woke up, I cried, because it had been so beautiful, so fulfilling, so rich — and now it was just me again, in my lonely bed.

UPDATE:
It seems that others have has this same dream — and are acting upon it!

Because today, April 8, 2024, I read a news article that there are coalitions in Denmark starting up and doing this very thing!

How cool is that?!?

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You can also read this story on substack:
https://lyonlyon.substack.com/p/feed-the-lot-a-dream-that-i-wish
And see hundreds of my designs here:
https://www.instagram.com/angela.treat.lyon/