You can never have enough warm socks –Tom McNamara The Guardian

[Demeter]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/08/sockman-retired-teacher-gives-socks-to-homeless


I'm just a regular guy. I've been a special education teacher most of my life. I've had great moments and crummy ones, including a very low period after a divorce. But as I neared retirement, I looked at life and everyone around me differently. One night as my friend Craig and I were walking to the entrance of the Chicago Blackhawks game, I had a revelation. My friend and I have been going to the games for a decade, and the same homeless man was always stands at the same corner holding his cup asking for change and is polite as he can be. If he receives nothing he still says "God Bless You, have a good night." I know there are many homeless like this in many cities...My friend and I had been putting something into his cup when we left games for many years, but this particular night my friend and I decided that rather than selling our extra ticket we would put it into his cup and see what he does. We just left it for him. At the end of the game, as everyone knows, people rush to get to their cars to get out of the parking lots. The crowds are huge, but our new friend was looking for us and when he saw us his grin was ear to ear. As we walked by he said, "I got $50 for that ticket God Bless You and thank you for your kindness."

I've mentored and encouraged many students over the years, including many on the autism spectrum that society too often casts aside, but something about night that stirred me. About that time, I also heard of The Joy of Sox, a husband and wife team in Philadelphia that give socks to the homeless. It's something so basic, yet necessary. As my friend at the Hawks game always says: you can never have enough warm socks. This was the start of how I became known as "The Sockman". I bought some socks on my own, and I asked friends and relatives to forgo gifts for birthdays and Christmas and just give me socks. The response has been incredible, including former students and athletes I coached collecting for me.

My first trip was in my home state of Illinois. I went down to Decatur and stopped at two homeless shelters and other places around the city. I delivered close to 200 pair of socks that day alone. I began not just to hand out socks, but to try to stop and talk to people and hear their stories. One building looked as if it were a jail, it had barbed wire around it, one way in and one way out. Two gentlemen approached me, and I wasn't sure if I had done the right thing, but I was there so what could I do. They both politely asked if they could help me. I said I was the Sockman, and I was here to deliver socks to people who are struggling at this time in their life. They both smiled at each other and invited me into the building. It was the first time I had ever been inside what I thought a prison might be like. I asked how many residents they had at the facility: 60. I counted out 60 and presented them to what they called was the "main man". He explained that this was a halfway facility, and when they earned the right, they would move up the block to a different facility. I then went to the place up the block. A similar scenario played out, and I started riding around Decatur looking for homeless individuals in the cold. The reaction was always the same "Thank You and God Bless".

I talked with many of my friends and asked their ideas about not only being the Sockman, but what they thought about me selling my house, buying an RV and traveling around the United States to help the homeless. Needless to say, most of them thought I had lost my mind. My son felt I was having a midlife crisis but as I explained my idea, they all started getting excited for me. I wasn't sure how I was going to get my socks, so I challenged my friends to see if they could raise 5,000 pairs of socks. On my first challenge I ended up with even more than that.

MORE--BRING HANKY

[Control-Z]

1. Oh, my.

There are some outstanding people in this world. If only the wealthy had more of them.