Today I reached deep into my left pocket to pull out the only 75 cents I had to my name at the time and dropped it into the one free palm belonging to a man holding the hand of a silent, angelic four year old boy in an orange t-shirt. His request "Can you help me and my son get back to Rockville, I forgot my wallet?" The number of times I've heard that excuse could fill a naughty homeless man's detention chalkboard.
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I smiled and asked Little Man in his oversized, pumpkin-shaded scrubs how he was doing. His mouth remained firmly sealed; his gaze elsewhere. Little man had clearly been his panhandler father's monkey lure for too many hours that day and it broke my heart. But in the humidity of the day, I couldn't get fired up at the father’s cunning use of innocent bait-age. In a world of have and have-nots, the dividing line between me and this man/son partnership was indisputable. Regardless of the blatant manipulation, the have-not patriarch provided my ‘have’ self with a 75 cent ticket to a clear conscience for the day. I helped a poor man and his son get back to Rockville (eat a sandwich, or smoke a pack of cloves). Anything to get precious Little Man out of the clammy, Northeast sun-haze and back under the comfort of a moral roof.
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I will not lie and pretend I'm seeking bus fare
I smiled and asked Little Man in his oversized, pumpkin-shaded scrubs how he was doing. His mouth remained firmly sealed; his gaze elsewhere. Little man had clearly been his panhandler father's monkey lure for too many hours that day and it broke my heart. But in the humidity of the day, I couldn't get fired up at the father’s cunning use of innocent bait-age. In a world of have and have-nots, the dividing line between me and this man/son partnership was indisputable. Regardless of the blatant manipulation, the have-not patriarch provided my ‘have’ self with a 75 cent ticket to a clear conscience for the day. I helped a poor man and his son get back to Rockville (eat a sandwich, or smoke a pack of cloves). Anything to get precious Little Man out of the clammy, Northeast sun-haze and back under the comfort of a moral roof.
2 comments:
You wonder if the kid will be the recipient of any benefit out of what you are giving to the dad.
But you give it anyway, hoping to God that he will.
Welcome back to the Blogosphere! I feel like I've missed out on some important things in your life, like an upcoming marriage!
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