Your kids tug at your sleeve and beg you ‘please, please’. You take me home and give me my own bed to sleep in oh boy! We play chase around the house and a game of fetch out in the front yard. You pet me and rub my belly and tell me how much you love me. As the days go by the games grow shorter that we play, you tell me you are tired and ‘won’t I just go away!’
Walking down the street I walk down everyday I was taught a lesson by a man who had nothing. I saw him from a distance huddled up against the local CubeSmart storage building where I had seen him many times before. Today was different, instead of continuing my normal route, I turned in his direction ensuring our paths would cross. It was a sunny day, one we had not had many of as of late. As I approached him as he basked in the sunlight, he turned his gaze upon me. His friendly eyes and big smile drew me in closer. I asked him how we was doing? That is all I said, he began to share with me the way he was enjoying the day and the sun upon his head. Next to him were his tools in a bucket, a squeegee and some rags. He made his living under the expressway, on the streets washing windows of those that passed by. He began to tell me a story of this little gecko that had come to visit. It had snuck up to him along the wall and feasted upon three ants nearby. He said as the gecko left, it stopped and swallowed its prey. “At least I know he will eat good today”, he said with a grin. He asked me if I had any work that I needed done. Unfortunately I didn’t, nor was I prepared for the question. He said okay, I am going to head out now and earn my […]
It had been raining for two days straight with the New Year upon us and the coldest weather of the season moving in, all anyone wanted was to get home. I walked my normal route out of the office to my truck, letting the day’s events fall out of my mind so I did not bring them home. As I started to turn towards the lot where my truck sat waiting peacefully for me to get in out of the rain, something no someone caught my eye. He walked towards me in the rain, slowly, as if he was unsure whether to cross my path, turn down the side street or even turn around. Instantly, as I have many times in the past in our city my mind started to prejudge, thinking of ways to avoid eye contact much less conversation, where is my wallet is it secure, I am out here by myself with this guy, what should I do? Then it happened as it has many times before; he raised his head from under his rain jacket and with eyes full of hurt and pain asked me “can you help me?’” By general rule, I do not give to people on the street, at least not money for we all know where that goes right? For some reason this time felt different, I casually replied, “Sure, let me see how much I have in my truck”. He followed behind me, not too close to be intrusive, but enough to make known that he […]
