Gary.
06.27.08 (11:29 pm) [edit]
So I am at the grocery store in Portland and I am getting ready to throw yet another luxury item in my cart--I think it was some smoked salmon...when I see this guy looking at some food....
He was standing there...shaking and barely able to stand up from hunger. What really got to me was that he was counting the change in his hand. I stood there and watched for a second--maybe ten..and realized that he was counting dimes and pennies to see if he could buy some food.
Life is a fickle bitch.
I fought back tears. I hate watching people struggle. This guy could have been in the alcohol section, but he wasn't. He was looking for food to survive. People shouldn't have to do that...not in America. I had two choices...walk away and add to my cart full of food, or do something good. I chose the latter.
His name was Gary. I asked him if he was counting his change to buy food and he said yes. He told he me hadn't eaten in 2 days. He said he was there to steal food if he had to, but he couldn't stoop so low. I started to tear up. I handed him ten dollars and said....go get some food Gary...at the restaurant in the grocery...meet me at the front in 30 minutes and we will get you stocked up. He reluctantly agreed.....the man needed something.
I got all the essentials and some soap. Gary needed soap. He knew it...I knew it...he didn't have soap. When I got to the counter Gary walked up to me and had tears in his eyes. All he could say was "god bless you". I just wanted him to survive.
I drove him back to his "place" which to be honest was nothing any of us would consider home. You don't know what you have until you meet a guy like Gary. I told him that I wanted him to meet me back at the same place next week at the same time. He started to cry. I asked him if life had dealt him a tough hand and he said, "You have no idea. It's hard to get work when you are too weak from hunger." I have many faults. I am an ass, I hate people telling me what to do and I am quite selfish. 90 percent of the time I let my penis rule my thinking which has made me the guy I am today. I swear a lot, drink like a fish and think MLK Day is stupid.
Despite my many faults, I have a heart that breaks when I see others suffer. I forget who I am as a person for that moment and for some reason, do what is right by humanity. I have so much to be thankful for and I take it for granted. I always have. I've counted change before...but never to eat.
There are many Gary's in this world. We just have to open our eyes and seem them. Tonight he is eating food and gaining strength. I am sitting here worried about this and that...but my belly is full and tomorrow it will be again. On Thanksgiving Day I will be with my family eating a turkey dinner and drinking wine. Where will the Gary's of the world be?
Each and every day we have a chance to make our mark. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Does it make me an extraordinary person? Not in the least. I just thank God for bringing Gary into my life...even for one brief moment. I hope I have another chance to do right for this world.... C
He was standing there...shaking and barely able to stand up from hunger. What really got to me was that he was counting the change in his hand. I stood there and watched for a second--maybe ten..and realized that he was counting dimes and pennies to see if he could buy some food.
Life is a fickle bitch.
I fought back tears. I hate watching people struggle. This guy could have been in the alcohol section, but he wasn't. He was looking for food to survive. People shouldn't have to do that...not in America. I had two choices...walk away and add to my cart full of food, or do something good. I chose the latter.
His name was Gary. I asked him if he was counting his change to buy food and he said yes. He told he me hadn't eaten in 2 days. He said he was there to steal food if he had to, but he couldn't stoop so low. I started to tear up. I handed him ten dollars and said....go get some food Gary...at the restaurant in the grocery...meet me at the front in 30 minutes and we will get you stocked up. He reluctantly agreed.....the man needed something.
I got all the essentials and some soap. Gary needed soap. He knew it...I knew it...he didn't have soap. When I got to the counter Gary walked up to me and had tears in his eyes. All he could say was "god bless you". I just wanted him to survive.
I drove him back to his "place" which to be honest was nothing any of us would consider home. You don't know what you have until you meet a guy like Gary. I told him that I wanted him to meet me back at the same place next week at the same time. He started to cry. I asked him if life had dealt him a tough hand and he said, "You have no idea. It's hard to get work when you are too weak from hunger." I have many faults. I am an ass, I hate people telling me what to do and I am quite selfish. 90 percent of the time I let my penis rule my thinking which has made me the guy I am today. I swear a lot, drink like a fish and think MLK Day is stupid.
Despite my many faults, I have a heart that breaks when I see others suffer. I forget who I am as a person for that moment and for some reason, do what is right by humanity. I have so much to be thankful for and I take it for granted. I always have. I've counted change before...but never to eat.
There are many Gary's in this world. We just have to open our eyes and seem them. Tonight he is eating food and gaining strength. I am sitting here worried about this and that...but my belly is full and tomorrow it will be again. On Thanksgiving Day I will be with my family eating a turkey dinner and drinking wine. Where will the Gary's of the world be?
Each and every day we have a chance to make our mark. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Does it make me an extraordinary person? Not in the least. I just thank God for bringing Gary into my life...even for one brief moment. I hope I have another chance to do right for this world.... C
posted by: squirrelzone (reply)
post date: 06.28.08 (9:24 am)
Life is a fickle bitch.
Right place right time, the ability to help those who are in a position of needing help can bring a lot of joy. Doing right is infectious.
posted by: 14u2nv2 (reply)
post date: 06.28.08 (12:50 pm)
Wow that's a great story. I had a similar experience, however in my experience I gave the homeless guy a bag of taco bell food. As I turned the corner, I saw him feeding the food to his dog! I was so pissed! Later that night though, it occured to me. That this dog was his only friend. He took care of his best friend and companion, before himself. I felt bad for getting angry about it. I realized that I myself was greedy and ignorant, because I wanted to see HIM eat that food and be happy. It never occured to me that his friend was a very large part of his own survival, or that what I had just witnessed was such a selfless and admirable act.
posted by: inkspector (reply)
post date: 07.01.08 (1:31 pm)
I know what you are saying. Before School Breakfasts started, I had students who I knew had nothing at home. I would bring in cereal, snacks and sandwiches for them. One kid told me how his parents could never pay for field trips because they spent the welfare money on beer and cigarettes but no food for their kids. Pretty sad when some parents priorities are all based on self centered/self absorbed satisfactions.
posted by: LoriSchuster (reply)
post date: 07.20.08 (8:40 am)
A very touching post. I'm glad your eyes, your heart and your wallet were open that day. I think that you can't feel guilty for enjoying the blessings that you have been given and earned by your hard work. But there is also a huge blessing in helping someone during their time of need...which you have seen and described very eloquently. Hope you are doing well.
posted by: trina (reply)
post date: 10.09.08 (12:06 pm)
Aww, Craig, you're just a big ole' softy on the inside. This is a great story. And I reminds me to be thankful and to help others as much as I can. We can get so sucked into our own problems that we forget about others that have it way worse than we do.
I started another blog, it's nothing you would want to read since I post about couponing, saving money, sewing and crafts, but I wanted to stop by and say hello to an old friend :)
posted by: surrogate (reply)
post date: 04.03.09 (6:26 am)
I didn't know you'd posted even this recently.
-And a very touching one. Glad you were there.