The stories of a Census worker

Yesterday was my last day of going door to door to drop off Census questionnaires. I will start up again, in a few weeks, with the follow up program of contacting those who didn't fill out the questionnaires. I have really enjoyed this job. I can only hope that the next stage will be as entertaining. I thought I would share some of my favorite "entertaining" moments of the last few weeks.

-Not until this job did I ever realize just how many dogs have to exist on this planet. I have seen huge, small, loud, quiet...every dog imaginable. Some have scared me into keeping mace very close to me at all times while others have hurt my heart. I've seen dogs missing eyes and limbs...talk about breaking your heart. My favorite would have to be the pet goat that I met not to long ago that thought he was a dog. That goat was almost as tall as I was and the biggest one I had ever seen (he was very well fed!). He came up to me with the other dogs...I think expecting me to pet him. I'm sure he was the nicest thing in the world but I couldn't seem to break eye contact with his horns! But my favorite animal story would have to involve a bunch of hungry cows. Usually we go out by ourselves but on this particular day we were sent out in twos to very remote places. I think they were a little worried about our safety because of some other experiences some of us encountered in places farther away from most civilization. But as life often does, this area (the outskirts of Nowata, Oklahoma) proved to be just the opposite: one of the most friendliest areas I had been to. Anyways, Megan and I were trying to get out to a house that was surrounded by cows and fences. We obviously could not get in so we decided to put a questionnaire in a bag and tie it on the gate. I get out of her truck to try to hurry up and get this bag attached to this gate with a rubber band when I realize that these cows, from a distance, are eyeing me. Before I know it these cows are running towards me! I can hear Megan laughing from the truck as I'm yelling at myself, "Alisa, hurry up!" I hurry up to the truck to find a laughing Megan and cows mooing at me (very loudly, by the way) at the gate because I hadn't fed them! They were ticked!

-I got to see sides of men that well.....

I would knock on doors and get replies like, "Hold on! I'm putting on my pants!" or my favorite, a hairy man opening up the door and trying to hide behind it with only his underwear on! After asking him a few questions he replies, "Maybe I should get on some pants." You think! But a teenager I ran across that didn't know his address probably topped it all. He went inside to ask "Sherri". He opens the door, yells at her, and then turns around to spit his nasty remains of his saliva from chewing. Ok, so that is gross in its own but I was standing right behind him at the bottom of the stairs. No joke, that nasty stuff shot past me maybe a foot from my face! He didn't even apologize!

-I have ran across some of the most uninhabitable places that you could think of....just to find out that they are not uninhabited at all! Trailers stuck side by side with makeshift connections that were falling apart, tents (yes, tents), roads that I had to put the truck into 4 wheel drive because there was no way I could get down and up these crazy very rocky roads other wise, and people who live in those campers that you see that are put on the bed of a truck. I can't tell you how many times I wished that I had my camera on me.

I actually loved coming home and telling my crazy stories and am sad that it ended so soon. There are some very interesting people around these here parts! But seriously, I met some of the sweetest old men. Some had me in tears as they told me of the wives that they lost or strokes that they had had and how they were dealing with the frustration of not remembering things like their address. Many times, in these last weeks, I have felt that I was very blessed. I am so grateful that my spouse is alive. I am so grateful that I don't have MS and forced to be in a wheel chair. I am so grateful that my house, which may be tiny, is not falling apart. I'm really grateful for this job.