Brave enough

Special thanks to my friend and former co-worker Jonathan Weigt for serving as today’s guest writer.

So at 5:30 tonight, I was hungry and decided to go to Wendy’s on Broadway for a bite before a late meeting. I had been at school all day at the State Hospital and then worked a full day at HP. I ate, read and studied notes from school, and was closing my books to head to a meeting I was literally going to be a minute late for already when a homeless dude walked up to me and asked if I could give him money for dinner. At first I looked, and I had $2 that I offered him, but he says, “That isn’t enough”… so I said, “Good, I’ll buy you what you want for dinner. Let’s go get in line.”

As we are standing in line, of course I’m assessing this dude as is habit in school. Lethargic, slow cognition, smells of some chemical I’m not exactly familiar with… but good mood and happy to be getting something to eat. I mean… I guess you work with what you got for the day you know? Anyway, I’m asking him about his day, what he’s up to, where he is sleepin’, if he’s got a place to go…et al, and he orders 2 bowls of chili. I ask him if he wants fries, or something to drink, and he says “no…no…” and I tell him he needs to drink something… so I order him a large water. The bill was like $2.89 or something. I mean whatever…right? I actually think to myself I’m helping this guy for $2.89… Hmm… And then the strangest thing happens…a guy behind me in line, whom I hadn’t even noticed, taps me on the shoulder and says, “I got it.” I politely try not to accept his offer, but he waves me off and said, “No…I got it.”

So I’m wondering at this point who it was that I was intended to help…”Tony” the homeless hungry guy or the dude in line… guess it’s probably none of my business, huh universe? But glad I was brave enough to help.

Sometimes, all it takes is being brave enough. ~jw