My Issues and Causes
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A Word about the HomelessThe homeless population in Arizona is huge. I worked at a convenience store on the west side of Flagstaff for several months and was struck by the amount of homeless people coming through. Most of the time they would stand out by the gas pumps and ask people for money and we would have to go out and tell them to leave. Sometimes we would have to call the police. My husband and I walked down to the grocery store one day and spied one man sitting under a tree with his head down. He had long hair, matted with dirt and his clothes were dirty and worn. When he looked up, his beard hid most of his face. He had bright blue eyes. He asked, � Could you spare some change?�. Well, the fact was, every time we went anywhere, we would be inundated with people begging us for money. We witnessed so many people taking the money, going into the store and walking out with a bottle of liquor or a 40 ouncer of beer, we had hardened our hearts. We shook our heads and walked on. �No, but I'll pick you up a job application while I'm in the store,� I muttered. A couple of weeks later at a particularly busy time at my workplace, this man walked in. He greeted me with a smile and wished me a good afternoon. Then he walked over to the fountain machine. Pausing, he dug in his pockets and pulled out some small change. He carefully counted it out and then shook his head. He started to walk out the door. The customer I was waiting on held her nose and whispered, �I hate those people.� It occurred to me that unlike some of them, he had not walked over to the beer cooler and counted out his change. He had stood in front of the pepsi machine. I handed her her change and said � Have a nice day�. Then I called to the man who was nearly out the door. �Can I help you with something?� I smiled at him. He stopped, then slowly smiled back. Then he came over to the counter and said quietly, � I am one dime short of a raspberry iced tea. I looked in the penny dish. �Well, I said, � there are at least 20 pennies in here. That should cover it.� He thanked me and served himself a small raspberry iced tea. Then he waited in line behind a couple of customers to pay for it. When he got up there, I pulled out ten pennies and added them to his change. �You have a great day!� I told him. He grinned and walked out the door. Then he turned and came back in. I braced myself. Sometimes these people had mental problems and I was a little fearful. He leaned over the counter and said, � You are the first person in the longest time to wish me a great day. Just for that, I believe I will.� He left, smiling. From that day on I made sure I gave extra emphasis to my greetings and �nice days� when a �vagrant� came in. They seemed to appreciate it more than those driving around in their BMW's and sports cars. There was one man in particular that I befriended. He rode around on a bike with a captain's hat on his head. Not surprisingly, he was known as �The Cap'n� He would wait until the store was empty and tell me stories. He was a terrific story teller. When winter came on and it got cold in the mountains of Flagstaff, he came in just to tell me goodbye. He was going to Phoenix, where it was warmer. It felt good to be remembered! It felt good to matter to someone. That is how that long haired man must have felt. I hope beyond hope he is safe and happy. I went from being disgusted to having compassion for those less fortunate. Even the drunks had a story to tell and most that I spoke with were much like you and me. When you have the chance to show some kindness, even to someone who smells or offends your eyes, do so!!! It makes a difference. Not only does it make a difference to those receiving the kindness, but your heart will grow as well. It is a good feeling. Daisy | |