Becca at "Lovely Yellow Ribbons" posted an interesting post titled "Homeless on Earth" ... actually, she posts lots of interesting things (and has fabulous customized military items as well!) but I was especially drawn into this story.
She describes seeing a homeless person and talks about how it feels for most of us to sit comfortably in our reliable vehicles behind our designer sunglasses and look upon these that have no homes and rely on the generosity of others for survival.
Several times, I have taken action ... some with positive results, others not. Once, I gave money to man who immediately picked up his sign and walked across the street to a liquor store (I understand addiction but I was dismayed that he didn't choose to eat with that money since his sign said he was hungry); and another time, my family and I picked up an extra hamburger meal as we drove through a fast food place and when we took it back to the 'hungry' man, he scoffed and asked for cash instead.
Recently, I was meeting a friend at a Subway shop in our area when a couple approached me inside the store. I listened to their story about how they had run out of gas and just needed twenty dollars or so to get back on the road again. More details emerged about how their car was just down the block and they would be so grateful if we could just help them out in this time of need. After I had given them the cash I had (less than they were asking for but all I had), I got in line to order my sandwich. The employee there said, "Let me guess. They just ran out of gas and their car is down the block?" He said they hang around this area frequently and tell similar versions of the same story.
I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Swindled and tricked? Sure.
Several times, though, I have gotten a 'thank you' or a 'God Bless You' ... which led me to believe this was a person in genuine need. It's so hard to know the right thing to do ... yet so easy to sit back in my comfortable lifestyle and ignore it all together ...
Like you, I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I thank you for a thought-provoking post!
She describes seeing a homeless person and talks about how it feels for most of us to sit comfortably in our reliable vehicles behind our designer sunglasses and look upon these that have no homes and rely on the generosity of others for survival.
Several times, I have taken action ... some with positive results, others not. Once, I gave money to man who immediately picked up his sign and walked across the street to a liquor store (I understand addiction but I was dismayed that he didn't choose to eat with that money since his sign said he was hungry); and another time, my family and I picked up an extra hamburger meal as we drove through a fast food place and when we took it back to the 'hungry' man, he scoffed and asked for cash instead.
Recently, I was meeting a friend at a Subway shop in our area when a couple approached me inside the store. I listened to their story about how they had run out of gas and just needed twenty dollars or so to get back on the road again. More details emerged about how their car was just down the block and they would be so grateful if we could just help them out in this time of need. After I had given them the cash I had (less than they were asking for but all I had), I got in line to order my sandwich. The employee there said, "Let me guess. They just ran out of gas and their car is down the block?" He said they hang around this area frequently and tell similar versions of the same story.
I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Swindled and tricked? Sure.
Several times, though, I have gotten a 'thank you' or a 'God Bless You' ... which led me to believe this was a person in genuine need. It's so hard to know the right thing to do ... yet so easy to sit back in my comfortable lifestyle and ignore it all together ...
Like you, I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I thank you for a thought-provoking post!
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