So I run the two miles home from work now. There was a seminar with free lunch at the lab, for which they ordered too many sandwiches. Come time to leave, there were still six half-subs lying around and a full one. No one wanted them but I couldn't bear to see them go into the garbage.
I wrapped the half ones in foil, loaded them into my backpack and started running home.
Partway down Boylston, I see a homeless man. I say "Hey, would you like a sandwich?"
He smiles and says "Shu-ah" (sure). Well, I have six so I say, "How about another?" He says "Definitely! What kind are they?" I'm not sure as they had gotten mixed up when I wrapped them in foil, but as it turns out he didn't really care anyways.
I feel as though I'm a sandwich delivery man. The subs were in the sports drink side pocket so while I'm running I just reach back and hand them off.
The second man looked fairly respectable, contrary to normal attire of the homeless. He's holding up a sign that says "My son and I are homeless. Please help." He's relatively young, forties I'd say. He looks stern, as if life's fortune had taken a turn for the worse and he shouldn't be in that situation. He's wearing a decent button down shirt and khaki's. It makes me think he and his son probably live out of a car.
"Sir, would you like a sandwich?" He immediately asks, "What kind are they?" I give the same answer; I wasn't sure. "Have they been refridgerated?" "Yes," I tell him. I explain where the subs came from. He accepts two, says a quick word of thanks, and I'm off. Back to my run.
The last guy was my favorite. He was seated in front of Walgreens or CVS--I forget--which I can only assume is a good begging spot as customers file out with change in their pockets fresh from the cashier. I wonder if the homeless life has become more difficult with more and more cashless transaction.
Anyways, he couldn't have been more than 25 and had a fairly happy look to him. He actually reminded me of Maciej (from Japan), at least in physical appearance and demeanor. "Hey bud, would you like a sandwich?" He immediately brightens up and says "Yeah man! I really just want food and everyone else keeps giving me money! Thanks!" I could see the excitement in his eyes. When was the last time that he had had a good sub-sandwich? Even before I jet off, he's digging into the first sandwich. Chicken salad sub, I think it was.
With a backpack considerably lighter and almost back to the house, I return. Gotta say, after the 20 bucks dilemma, I felt pretty good about myself. A 2 mile run in 25 minutes while helping the homeless. Life doesn't get much better than that.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
20 Bucks
I went out with a newly found friend (and extremely English) Alexandra and Colin yesterday to Boston Commons. After making utter fools of ourselves with the hilarity that ensued from an inability to play frisbee effectively (while counting in Serbo-Croat), we headed back. As a true tourist, Alex was taking pictures; meanwhile a uniquely dressed man approached us with a form about the Aids Walk.
Twenty dollars he asked of Colin and me: A donation to support this man who was HIV positive. And so I donated twenty dollars.
But the entire way home I wondered, why? Why did I donate, when I myself am not in a financially secure situation? Twenty dollars is quite the sum of money. As we walked away, another gentlemen spoke with the same stout interestingly clothed man and they held a conversation that made us question the validity of his request. Was it a scam? I later found out the AIDS walk ended a month ago.
Regardless, for some reason I decided to give this man twenty dollars. It was not out of generosity - my own organization needed the donation. I walked away not regretting what I had done, but more I was curious as to why did I do something that was so innately out of character for me. A few coins or dollars--yes, I would give to a seemingly genuine cause or person in need. But twenty dollars was a high sum of money for anyone to receive in an easy handout.
Overall, I feel blessed that I'm able to wonder about why I gave him twenty dollars, rather than being the one required to scam or beg for money. What scares me the most still, is that for all the reasoning and logic I have planted in my mind, there are still brief moments when I cast rationality aside and act far from who I believe myself to be. So then one has to wonder in the moments when no logical conclusion can be drawn from our anomalous actions, does what we do serve a greater purpose? Did that twenty dollars become part of a change beyond the context of what I can understand and for that reason it was destined to happen? In the end, I can only hope that that gentleman's motives were true and that my donation was in fact a donation to AIDS walk, but at the very least this one source of randomness has caused me to reflect and wonder... just what am I in the inner-workings of the grand scheme of the universe?
Yes. I know that was mystic. And it was an illogical post in itself. But in the confusion, it becomes difficult to think it a sequential manner. Happy July!
Twenty dollars he asked of Colin and me: A donation to support this man who was HIV positive. And so I donated twenty dollars.
But the entire way home I wondered, why? Why did I donate, when I myself am not in a financially secure situation? Twenty dollars is quite the sum of money. As we walked away, another gentlemen spoke with the same stout interestingly clothed man and they held a conversation that made us question the validity of his request. Was it a scam? I later found out the AIDS walk ended a month ago.
Regardless, for some reason I decided to give this man twenty dollars. It was not out of generosity - my own organization needed the donation. I walked away not regretting what I had done, but more I was curious as to why did I do something that was so innately out of character for me. A few coins or dollars--yes, I would give to a seemingly genuine cause or person in need. But twenty dollars was a high sum of money for anyone to receive in an easy handout.
Overall, I feel blessed that I'm able to wonder about why I gave him twenty dollars, rather than being the one required to scam or beg for money. What scares me the most still, is that for all the reasoning and logic I have planted in my mind, there are still brief moments when I cast rationality aside and act far from who I believe myself to be. So then one has to wonder in the moments when no logical conclusion can be drawn from our anomalous actions, does what we do serve a greater purpose? Did that twenty dollars become part of a change beyond the context of what I can understand and for that reason it was destined to happen? In the end, I can only hope that that gentleman's motives were true and that my donation was in fact a donation to AIDS walk, but at the very least this one source of randomness has caused me to reflect and wonder... just what am I in the inner-workings of the grand scheme of the universe?
Yes. I know that was mystic. And it was an illogical post in itself. But in the confusion, it becomes difficult to think it a sequential manner. Happy July!
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