July 21, 2009
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today..
i was approached by a homeless man as i was about to step out of my car.
'miss, miss.. please.. i'm so hungry. i came up here from florida and all i want is something to eat'.. he was on the verge of tears..
i rummaged through my purse for any loose change or bills.. nada.
'please, please' he had such desperation in his voice.. yet his breath reeked of alcohol.
'i don't have any cash, i'm sorry. listen, can you wait right here for a second? i'll go to the mcdonald's over there and buy you some food..' my heart ached for him..
he quickly wiped his eyes and looked up at me as though he had seen a ghost.. 'really?? i will wait right here!'
i walked across the street to mcdonald's and ordered him a number one.. super sized.. with a coke. i skedaddled out of there.. and made my way to the spot where i told him to wait. he was nowhere to be seen..
i searched the area up and down. i was being toasted by the scorching sun..
as i turned the corner, i saw him sitting.. indian style.. pouring his bottle of rum into his coffee cup.. i knelt down and placed the bag and drink in front of him..
'ah.. i.. uh.. who are you?!' he totally forgot.
'mister.. you should really stop drinking..'
i walked away.. as i was about to cross the street.. i looked back.. and there he was.. passed out on the sidewalk.
Comments (14)
Your heart was in the right place. It's unfortunate that some peoples addictions ruin their lives. You did the right thing by giving him food instead of money.
he said he was from florida? because he totally sounds like he could be from baltimore... (*sigh*)
kinda makes me wanna big mac - does that make me a bad person?
Yea, I think a lot of the people on the street have mental illnesses, otherwise I'm pretty sure they'd at least be working at McDonald's or something. It's a pity really.
Its reasons like this why I don't give to people that accost. On the other hand, there is one guy who patiently kneels at the exit of the BART station I see frequently. He just sits there, says hello but never "begs". I give to him whenever I have loose change.
Addictions don't ruin lives, people ruin lives. Homeless people have no excuse, there are always other people who have persevered through worse.
you're just too nice...
I had those people swearing at me when I offer them food instead of money...
sweet. that's the life.
You did the right thing....and a brave thing considering you allowed him to approach you. Cheers. BTW - where was this...is this somewhere in CA?
I did that once on the streets of chicago- I got cussed out for my trouble- but hey he did say he was hungry!
sad. i would have done the same exact thing you did. not that i'm making excuses for him, but at some point in their alcoholism... they just start making stuff up without even realizing it or intending to (korsakoff's syndrome)... it's still heartbreaking.
similar thing happened to me one time....
touching!
I got into a fist fight with a homeless guy cause he started calling me a cheap chink after I gave him a dollar. It wasn't really much of a fight, I hit him once and he started running away screaming.