The Homeless Man and The Giving Stranger

Little Jimmy Peterman was taking a walk to the diner one day with his grandfather when he noticed what looked to be a large white cloth of some kind laying on the bench at a bus stop. He didn't think much of it at first because he was excited about going to the diner for a pancake breakfast, but it would later revisit his mind. It was cold outside and the idea of having some hot chocolate was exciting so for the moment that was all that was on his mind. His grandfather held his hand in his, and as he took his small steps, his grandfather looked down at him and walked to match his strides.

Reaching the diner, they walked in and was seated by the waitress who took their order and then headed for the kitchen. She came back shortly after to bring Jimmy his hot chocolate and his grandfather an orange juice. As they waited for their order, Jimmy looked out the window and gazed at all the pretty decorations in the store windows and on the streetlights. He always enjoyed the holidays, especially Christmas with all the bright lights and the stories of Santa Claus and the reindeer.  But looking further down, his eyes rested again on the bus stop where the white cloth was.

"Grandpa," he said without taking his eyes off of it, "why is that blanket over there? Did somebody lose it?" His grandfather looked at what James was pointing at.

"I don't know Jimmy." he said. "That looks to be what is called a drop cloth. It's pretty big, maybe it was left behind by one of the construction workers when they finished the job. I'm sure if they need it one of them will come back for it." he said with a smile. Just then the waitress came over with their food and after the grandfather said a quick prayer to bless it, they began to eat. They talked about how much fun they were going to have getting things ready for Christmas, laughing and remembering the happiness they experienced with the past celebrations. Jimmy was almost jumping out of his seat when they started talking about going for a drive to see the light show which had become a family tradition, then going to see relatives to exchange gifts.

 As they were talking, Jimmy looked down the street again and was startled to see the "blanket" move. "Grandpa!" he said, "Look!" and he pointed to the bus stop. They both watched as a man pushed the drop cloth off of himself. He got up and going to an alley between two buildings behind him, he pulled out a shopping wagon. It was filled to the brim with his stuff. The man was dressed in tattered clothes, and his hair was unkempt and dirty. Pulling the wagon with him, he went back over to the bench and sat down, watching as people walked by him as if he did not even exist. Not one person offered to see if he needed anything; people just seemed to be in a rush, no doubt to either do some shopping, getting something to eat, rushing to get to work, or to go home. It was freezing outside, and he did not even have a pair of gloves.

 "Grandpa?" Jimmy asked, "What is all that stuff he got? Why does he look so sad?" His grandfather thought for a moment how to respond. This is an area that the family always talked about, helping out the less fortunate, but with the exception of sending in donations to various charities, they were never confronted straight on with the realities of the plight of the homeless. Inside his heart he suddenly felt conviction for not doing anything about what he has always recognized as being a problem in America and abroad. He realized right then that sending money to different organizations is ok, but sometimes one must get their hands dirty and try to help alleviate the problem.

 Before he answered Jimmy's question, he called the waitress over and asked if she could put together some soup, sandwiches and some juice to go. Then turning back to Jimmy, he replied, "That man is homeless. He does not have any place to live, so he carries around in that wagon all the things that he owns. He is most likely hungry, and I know he is cold. That "blanket" was the only thing keeping him somewhat warm but not entirely, and he was asleep on the bench because that is all he has."

 Jimmy thought about what his grandfather said then looking out the window he asked, "Can we help him?" His grandfather looked at him and smiling he said yes, we will. As they waited for the waitress to bring over their order and the check, he thought about all the money that he and his family spend each year on gifts and food. He thought back to how things were when he was growing up, how hard it was for his father to find work sometimes and how he vowed that one day when he was able to, he would help out anyone who did not have a job and make sure they had food on their table. He knew what it was like to go hungry, and he could not understand how all this time he forgot about where he came from. This was not the first time he has seen homeless people. Sure, he has given a few dollars here and there, but thanks to his grandson immediately recognizing that this man needs help, it seems that his eyes were really opened to what he knew he needed to do.

The waitress returned with the food and after paying for their meal and the care package and leaving a tip, he and Jimmy prepared to leave.  Making sure that Jimmy had his coat,  gloves, scarf and hat on (it was getting windy outside), they walked out the door and headed over to the bus stop. The man was still sitting there; he had wrapped the drop cloth around himself to try and get warm, and he could see that he was shivering. The clothes he had on were not enough to warm a fly; and he had no coat. Walking over to him with little Jimmy holding his hand, he stopped and sat down next to him. The wind was whipping against them, and he could tell that the man had not had a bath for quite some time. Despite the odor that was emitting from the homeless man, he reached over and tapped him lightly on his knee.

"Sir," he said "My grandson and I were in the diner down the street and saw you lying here. I thought you might like to have something to eat so I got you some food." The man looked at the bag and then at him. Tears welled in his eyes as he accepted the gift.

"Thank you, sir, thank you." he said as emotion filled his voice. "I can't tell you how much this means to me." Trying to regain his composure, he reached out his hand to him.  "Can you tell me your name sir?"

"Mike Crawford." he said, and they shook hands. His hands were ice; he could barely form a grip. "Mike Crawford, and this is my grandson, Jimmy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." he said. "My name is Samuel." He spoke with a slight accent (perhaps from England) and as he spoke, his teeth began to chatter, and he started shivering uncontrollably. Mike had on an overcoat and a thick sweater underneath it. Taking off his coat he handed it to Samuel. Putting the food down, he quickly put it on. Mike then gave him his gloves and Samuel put those on also. Grabbing the bag with the food, he opened it up and started slowly eating the soup. As he ate, he explained to Mike how he ended up homeless. As he talked, Mike looked down at his feet and saw that his shoes had holes in them. The temperatures were dropping, and he knew he had to get Jimmy back home, but he also knew that he needed to help this man. Something was tugging on his heart, and he felt guided to bring comfort and relief to him. Getting up he looked at Samuel and invited him to come home with them.

"Sam," he said. "I normally don't do this. We live in a dangerous world, and I have to think about the safety of my family first and foremost. But something in my heart is telling me that I need to do this, and not just that, I want to." Looking in the distance he took a deep breath as he himself felt like he was going to start crying. "I can't leave you out here like this, you need help. Look, my house is within walking distance, and I have a converted shack behind it. It's equipped with a small kitchen and bathroom and there is a place for you to rest; there’s a sofa that converts to a bed.  There are blankets in the small cabinet in the bathroom, and there is some food in the kitchen, soup, bread, cold cuts, some ground beef and some chicken, steaks, potatoes, rice and some canned vegies. There should be some butter for your bread, and seasonings in the cabinets. It’s not much but better than nothing. There is juice and water in the fridge, and I think there might be either some donuts or leftover cake my wife made and brought out when I would go in for some alone time or to do some work from my job.  

We don't have cable but we do have a internet connection so you can watch some tv through a device called a Roku. I will show you how to operate that, and there is a landline phone connection but you can't make long distant calls, only local so if there is anyone you want to call to let them know you are ok, please feel free to do so.  The shack is heated and there is hot water so you can take a shower and warm up. In the bathroom is one of my bath robes; you can wrap yourself in that after you bathe, and there should be a pair of my slippers by the sofa. You and I look to be about the same size so I will bring you over some clean clothes. You can take your clothes and put them in the laundry bag and put it outside with the rest of your things. We'll figure out what we can do to help you get back on your feet later. Leave your wagon outside, I have a tarp you can use to cover it until we can get your belongings cleaned up."

Samuel looked at him and got to his feet. "You don't have to do this Mike; you don't know me, and I don't want to inconvenience you. You've done more than enough by getting me food and giving me the coat off your back. Please, go on home and get this lad out of the cold. Thank you so much for helping me and God bless you."

Mike shook his head. "No sir, I do have to do this, because God has blessed me." He smiled at him and looked down at his grandson. As they began to walk, he looked at Samuel with compassion and empathy and said to him, "Come on my friend, let's go home."

The inspiration behind this story is based on a true event that took place when I was working one day a couple of winters ago. I was outside after making my deliveries in Bound Brook in Central Jersey, when I looked across the street and saw a homeless man with a drop cloth covering him. Looking between the buildings I saw that there had been some construction going on which is where he most likely got the drop cloth. As I watched, he got up from the bench and walked over to a grocery store cart that was filled with his belongings. He had on dirty clothes; a sweater instead of a coat, and his shoes looked as if they were falling apart. He grabbed the cart and went back over to the bus stop and sat down. I wanted to do something for him, but my co-worker was driving and was telling me that we needed to get going. It was freezing outside and just the few minutes I was standing there, my hands started getting numb from the cold because I had no gloves on. The place that I was delivering to was a soul food establishment but they had not opened yet so I could not bring him anything to eat and was not comfortable with the idea of giving him money because of the possibility that he may have used it to get an alcoholic drink from the liquor store.

Over the years I have helped with the blessing of the Lord, many a people that were hungry and some homeless; buying food, giving a couple of dollars here or there, but there was something about this poor man's situation that got me to thinking about what Jesus said in the book of Matthew which compelled me to write this story. Let us all if able to, consider reaching out to someone in need and be a blessing in their life.

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  (Matthew 25:35-40)