Do you… VooDoo?

While on a trip this week to Portland Oregon for a friends wedding, we decided to hit a hot spot for an after dinner treat. Anyone who has watched The Amazing Race, may recognize VooDoo Donuts. They have two locations but the one to go to is the original on S.W. 3rd Ave. Let me tell you that it is quite the experience. This isn’t your Winchell’s or Duncan Donuts and quite frankly, it’s about as far from Krispy Kream’s as you can get. Their best known donut is the Maple Bacon Bar. Quite simply, it’s your typical Maple Bar Donut but with crispy bacon on top. Breakfast on a donut! I just had to try it, and I’m here to tell you it was great. I know… it sounds a little outrageous but if you break it down, you’re having a waffle covered in Maple Syrup with a side of bacon. That isn’t the only out of the ordinary donut they have. You can also have a Tang Donut, and from what I understand, tastes just like the Tang we use to drink. Now, I’ll have to tell you that if you go to the website, or the store for that matter, you will have to take your imagination with you but not your kids. Some of their product names are definitely not G or PG rated. The little hole in the wall store and their colorfully named concoctions are not the only thing that makes this place interesting. Now I don’t know about the second location in the city but this one is nestled in between a movie theater and a bar. Not that bad you say. Well, under normal circumstances, no, but like I said, this place is interesting. The movie theater is an Adult Picture Show Theater featuring “Full Length Movies” & “Japanese Anime” which is nothing like your old school RoboTech, Dragonball Z or Samurai Champloo. The bar liked to advertise using words like “Nude” and “Girls” a lot. Ok… so is that interesting enough for you? Well, let me kick it up just another notch. Also on the street, and right were we parked, is the Union Gospel Mission/LifeChange Facility. And it so happens it was feeding time at the Zoo. Ok, so that may sound a little callous, but when you are a people watcher like myself, it a pretty apt description of things. Don’t get me wrong! I happen to think there is no better place to have a faith based establishment do their thing. As with most metropolitan areas, there is “that” side of town. You know… the one no one wants to think about let alone go to. In this case it wasn’t an area that just creeps up on you. In fact we all got a surprise when 2 blocks away was a Ruth Chris Steakhouse. As one of the passengers in the car commented, either things have changed in this area or Ruth Chris needs to fire their location scout. As it would happen, on of the people with us, and the driver of one of the cars, had an important phone call to deal with and wisely wanted to do so while in a stationary location instead of behind the wheel. Because of this, we were available to be entertained by the goings on of the Mission. The girls of the group opted to get in the car and lock themselves in. Us guys on the other hand had to stay out for the show. I don’t know the circumstances that lead to many of these people having to live life on the streets but it was apparent that they are not recent residents. Many of them seemed to know each other, from the 2 penny hooker (named so by me as she was wearing 3 pairs of underwear ON TOP of a pair of hip hugging low ride pants that were riding a wee bit too low, a wife beater tank top and white lace corset rounding out the ensemble) to Crocodile Dunndee ( just because that’s how he was dressed. And no… I didn’t get in a conversation about knives with him either!) And then there was the gentleman who liked to tell everyone what he was thinking, predominately about you and with as many cuss words, and variants, as he could get out as quickly and as loudly as he possibly could. Out of all this, though, one thing stood out the most. One person showed up after the mission had stopped serving dinner. He knocked on the door and rang the bell and was denied. I did notice on the door the posted times for when meals are served and it was clearly after the posted time. I’m not going to criticize the mission. They have to establish rules and, once established, they need to follow them just as they require those seeking their help have rules they need to follow. Now, as I was saying, one thing stood out to me. When it was clear that this person was not going to get any food, many of those who did gave up a portion of their food so that the late comer had a meal. So I have to ask myself, is this a testament to the work the mission is doing or is it a case of misery loves company? Either way, it was not what I expected. The same thing can be said about the evening as well. Like I said, quite the interesting ending to a fun evening with friends, but let me assure you, never once did I feel any sense of danger. Rest assured, I would have been the first to say it was time to get the heck outta Dodge if that had been the case.