Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another sample of the differences.

THEN

Back in the 1970s when I was bicycling in Louisville, I don’t think there were any dedicated bike lanes or routes THEN.

NOW

I was greatly and pleasantly surprised to see many bike paths, routes, and lanes as part of the Louisville roadway system when I returned. And now Google Maps and Apple Maps indicate the official bike ways or direct me to less busy, less dangerous streets when on a bicycle.

SVDP in Louisville

More than food distribution

The operations of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Louisville are quite extensive. Before, I showed photos of the twice-weekly food distribution. There is more.

This is the old St. Paul Church building. Now it is a dining room for the meals served to the poor and homeless.
The building’s origins are obvious. In addition to the stained glass windows, the old altar and tabernacle are still present at the front of the dining room. Lunch and dinner are served to about 290 persons every day, seven days a week. Above, volunteers are preparing to serve a lunch.
The building on the left (where the man is seated) is the old St. Paul school. Next to it is the former rectory where the priests lived. And on the far right is one of five or six residential buildings. The SVDP compound now covers an entire city block.
Two more residential buildings for the homeless. Some of them are for homeless veterans or single mothers with children or people with disabilities.
Another residence for the poor and homeless.