Every work day, I head down to the Post Office to drop off and pick up the snail mail for the office. There’s a “park” next to it, which is just a fenced off area with benches. There’s always a pretty good contingent of homeless in and around the park, Post Office and library situated in the same area. Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn’t hit you up for money. Occasionally, it will be the same guy, who forgot that he told you the same sob story about his mother dying in Bainbridge, Georgia, and his car broke down, and he needs a few bucks to get a part so he can fix it and make his mom’s funeral. So far, she’s died 3 times over the last year. Apparently, they haven’t put her in the ground yet.
Once a month, our Sunday School class, prepares and serves a meal at the Dothan Rescue Mission, and I see many of the same faces coming through the line. You learn about some of them, and shake your head over their situation. They all genuinely need help of some manner, but you don’t know if you give somebody the $10.00 you have in your wallet, if they’re going to use it to get something to eat, or put it towards that next fix. No way to know. Honestly, some days I'm happy to throw a few bucks their way, while other times, I take the long way around to avoid the question.
Just a bit ago, I took a break to head to a coffee shop a few blocks from the office. While I waited, I saw this man on the sidewalk, just outside the entrance. I’m standing right at the glass, about 7-8 feet from him. I feel fairly safe in making the assumption he was homeless. Everything he was wearing was worn out from head to toe. Dirty long hair, and filthy hands with fingernails that hadn’t been clipped in months. He was pacing the sidewalk, obviously waiting for people to enter or leave the shop so he could ask for money. This was one of those times that I really wasn't feeling charitable, so I waited, and watched.
A couple of people walk right past him on their way in, and he shows no interest in stopping them. He walks over to the trash can, and stares down into it for a while. Then, he leans over, putting his face in the can. After about 10-15 seconds, he stands back up, then goes right back down, face first in the can. The way he was situated, I couldn’t tell if he was reaching in the trash, or throwing up. This time, he emerged with a discarded to-go box from some restaurant. I thought, no way is he…..but quickly checked myself, thinking, dumbass, how do you think these people survive? And after seeing homeless people pick cigarette butts off the ground, and light them up without hesitation, why did I even wonder? And with that, he opened it to find part of an uneaten hamburger and some fries. He scarfed it down, made another quick rummage through the trash, and disappeared down the side of the building.
I’m sure most of these people are in the situation they are simply from bad choices. Others just had life roll over them. But, I’m also sure that none of them want to have that lot in life. I watched that unfold right in front of me, a man rifling through a trash can on a public street, finding a half-eaten hamburger, which may be his only “meal” of the day. And I wanted to avoid him, because he might ask me for a few dollars. Probably going to be damn cold the next few nights.
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