Community Chat

[bonnielu]

I am haunted by this. There was a time that I would hand out money to people on street corners. I would go out of my way to help. My mother, father and grandparents were like this. One day a friend who is very active in a homeless shelter stopped me cold and told me there were places for these people to get help and lots of people willing to make a difference in an organized way. She told me not to do this again because ... and I really never got the because.

The other day I was in McDonalds sneaking an ice cream cone (150 calories ) There was a man who looked to be down and out and was drinking a cup of coffee. He was counting his change over and over at his seat.

I wanted to hand him money. I wanted to buy him a meal. Of course his condition was only a suspicion. If I approached him, would I have invaded his privacy. But if I approached him would I have helped him in some way. All kinds of questions. I thought of my friend's comments. I thought of his apparent condition. I did try to get help at the counter but I could not seem to communicate that I wanted to help in some way. They brushed me off.

Too late I guess, but what would you have done and what should I have done. I feel I have let down my parents and grandparents in some way, not to mention this man.