Last week I saw a lady quickly reach into the trash, grab something and start to eat it. I was shocked. Then panicked.
I was stopped at the light right at the corner of my office building. I wanted to jump out of my car and tell the lady to go to the coffee shop in our building and ask for a meal. To tell them I'm parking but I would be in to pay for her meal.
But she moved down the street too fast. There were cars behind me and the street was too narrow for me to pull over. By the time I turned around she was gone. I wish I could have helped her. The images of that lady eating out of the trash will haunt me for years.
When I see situations like this I often think: "There but by the grace of God go I."
I didn't really see things like that until I moved to California. I remember going on a class trip to D.C. in high school and the chaperones warned us that we would see beggars but not to give them money because it would encourage them to follow us and beg more. I was in awe that people actually begged because I had never seen it. I don't think I actually did see it while I was in D.C.....but I see it A LOT here in San Diego.
ReplyDeleteI used to carry granola bars in my purse and in my car so I could give them to people who asked me for money for food. As you said, it could so easily be me.