A friendly man named Jim works at the front door of the Carriage House, Boulder’s only day shelter. He hands out bus tokens and lends a helpful ear to the shelter’s many clients. They all respect him. So when Jim stands up to make an announcement in the cramped room where everyone eats lunch, people listen.
Today, Jim felt moved to say something about Barack Obama. One hour earlier, the United States’ 44th president had been sworn in. This was a huge leap forward for everyone sitting and standing in that room, Jim said. Now it’s everyone’s individual responsibility to seize this moment. To build from it. We are each in control of our own future, he said. We are each responsible for helping the ones we love.
A little while later, a volunteer named Lori pulled out her guitar and sat down at the large table as everyone gathered there ate the last of the hot vegetable soup and started in on cold cuts and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The first song she played was a Bob Dylan classic, and it quickly became a sing-along:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before theyre forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, n how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
Yes, n how many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
As she finished, everyone set down their spoons and cheered.
