My friend from WA. and I were sitting at Eddie's after taking a walk around the block, so we could invite ourselves back in for another serving of pumpkin spice cheese cake with two spoons. We were happily spooning in our second dessert and chatting away. F., the kitchen manager, was called away to solve a problem, as it was her night to be at work for the closing procedures at the end of the business day (getting home at midnight if she's lucky.).
The 'problem' was a man who had apparently been walking around downtown for three hours trying to find someone who would help him out with some funding. His wife and son were standing on the sidewalk, waiting downstairs. They had obviously been walking the streets for hours with him, in hopes of some assistance to the tune of $22 to pay for a night's lodging. That sweet person I will now take credit for raising, F., came back in to sit down after talking with the man, saying she had taken $40 out of her pocket and given him. She said he did not look shabby, or unkempt, but was neatly dressed, with khakis, plaid shirt and sweater vest. I assume, he offered to do any kind of work she had in exchange for the financial help. She asked if he needed a meal, and he started crying. He asked if he could go get his wife and son, and the three had big, fat, juicy hamburgers for their supper.
My friend and I watched this whole thing unfold, and took up a collection (the two of us) to replace the forty dollars she had donated for them to pay for a room for the night. And got the report that when the servers/wait staff heard the story, they all pitched in ten bucks each, so they gave the family another $100. Remember: these are people who depend on the tips they get for serving to make a living, and ten bucks out of a servers' pocket is a big deal.
I'm usually a pretty easy touch, a sucker for anyone's hard luck story, but I questioned her about why she was so quick to pull cash out of her pocket and hand it over to this guy. She said 'that's the way my mama raised me'... so I am thankful for so so so so many things right now: A roof over my head, a pantry and fridge full of food (some of which we will throw away, uneaten), warm safe place to stay, comfy bed, financial resources that allow freedom from worry/anxiety about tomorrow and any challenges sunrise might bring. Daughters who can feel the touch in their hearts, and desire to ease others' pain, and have the resources to do so when called upon.
As I lay in bed this morning thinking about that tidy, well groomed, desperate man, I thought about how difficult his life must be. How he expects, of himself, to be the provider, main-stay, bread-winner of his family. And finds himself reduced to walking the streets, asking people for help to feed and house them. How heart-wrenching his situation is, and how humiliating it must be to spend hours and hours asking for help, to hear: "No". And "Sorry". And "Go Away".
This story is certainly not limited to this one man, but to hundreds and thousands in recent months and years. People who have found themselves without employment, surprised to unexpectedly discover no work, job loss snowballing into lost housing, and hunger, and desperate straits with worries about providing for family. So they are out there looking for shelters that will take them in, (most of which rarely keep families 'intact') to provide bed and meals for families.
So... just in case you haven't counted your blessings today... now's the time. Me: I feel like I had an encounter with a modern day 'good Samaritan'.
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