I keep snacks in my car to give to homeless people begging by the side of the road. I don’t like to give them money because I don’t know if it’ll go towards drugs or alcohol or other self-defeating activities so I buy a big box of granola bars or snacks and hand them out when I can.
Recently, on the way home from an Italian festival, my family and I stopped at a stoplight and there was a homeless man holding a sign. I reached in the back and gave him a snack sized bag of cookies. He thanked me, turned around and immediately opened the bag and began eating. My 14-year-old noticed and remarked on how hungry the man must have been . “That’s true, I’m happy we were able to help a bit,” I said.
But that wasn’t enough for him. We had brought home extra food from the festival – a few sausage sandwiches and a bag of sugary dessert. We had already proceeded to our next stop, the grocery store, when my son remembered the food. “What if we gave him that?” he asked. My boyfriend was going into the store to pick up a few things and I explained to my son that he would have to give the food to the homeless man and it may be difficult since we would be driving in a different direction and he’d have to call him to the car. “That’s okay, I’ll do it,” he said eagerly, jumping into the front passenger seat.
So my boyfriend went into the grocery store and I drove back to the spot where we had seen the homeless man. He wasn’t at the corner anymore, he had moved to a grassy area on the riverbank and was sitting with some others. My son hesitated, thinking, and then jumped out of the car with the bags of food and raced across the street to the man. I had to move ahead as the light had changed and leave him there. As he met us at the next corner, I thought, “Wow, that is something to see.” I was so proud of his courage and kindness. I asked what the man had said. With a sly smile, he answered, “He and the others said, ‘Bless my heart.'”
Photo courtesy of Phil Parker.