Reply #56: I work the info desk at a hospital. [View All]

[SheilaT]

A couple of weeks ago a very thin man asked me if I could buy him a sandwich at the gift shop next to me. I did, along with chips and a soft drink. He was immensely grateful. I don't even know exactly how much it cost because I get to pay with my ID badge and it simply shows up (along with all other charges I've made at the gift shop or the cafeteria) on my next pay stub. He looked like he hadn't had a good meal in a while.

About twenty years ago I heard an interview with Mike Royko, who was a columnist for several Chicago newspapers. He was asked about his policy on giving money to panhandlers, and he said he always gave them money, implying that he gave greenbacks, not change, saying that by the time someone was desperate enough to ask total strangers for money, who was he to judge? It changed my attitude towards such people.

I am, in relative terms, rich. I have a job, earn enough money to pay for my home and food and clothing and a reasonable number of luxuries, like chocolate or a day trip somewhere. While I have less money right now than I have had at times in the past, I've also been much, much poorer than this, although I've never been homeless or even too close to it. I sometimes have to struggle with not making assumptions about those without jobs, or who have fallen over the edge. I try to remind myself every single day how extraordinarily fortunate I am.