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I had some errands to do today, mostly involving going to my job and letting them know I'd be off the schedule for an indeterminate time, and picking up my MRI films to take over to a spinal specialist to make an appointment there.
As I'm on painkillers, and generally unable to drive my car right now otherwise because the effort of turning the wheel with my left arm is just beyond what I can safely manage--particularly since my left arm seems to want go dead at more or less random intervals, I left home intending on catching the bus. Of course, I'm not moving as well as normal--even though it doesn't really affect my gait, it being my upper back that's afflicted, I am forced to move carefully to avoid jostling my back and shoulder too much. I didn't make it to the bus stop on time.
Now I didn't much like the idea of standing around for fifteen minutes at the bus stop waiting for the next bus. Even in normal circumstances, my body doesn't really like standing around. So I decided to walk up to the corner 7-11 to get something to drink.
As I was walking past the side of the store, a younger guy sitting there hit me up for some change--saying that he wanted to buy some beer. I stopped, turned off my IPod, and he looked at me and said "Hey, I wouldn't have said that if I hadn't thought you were a drifter too."
I passed him a little change--what I could spare above bus-fare for the next couple days, since I have some errands to run tommorow, and told him "well, I have been, but I'm not now" and wished him good luck.
I was struck by the strangeness of this exchange. First, that he'd mistaken me for a "drifter." I suppose it might have been that I'd misjudged the weather and worn my jacket out into a day a bit warm for it, or because the jacket is in need of a washing, or a combination of the two. Or that he mistook me for someone he'd seen on the streets. Either way, it struck me as odd.
Then the whole "I wouldn't have said that..." part of it. I suppose he was regretting telling me that he intended to buy beer, though I can't say I give a damn about that. It makes no never-mind to me, though he couldn't have known that. I passed him what I thought I could afford at the moment and didn't think twice about it. On another day, one in which I wasn't concerned about how much money I'd have on hand for a while because of missing work due to my back injury, I might've passed over more money if I'd had it on hand. I appreciate the honesty inherent in asking for money to buy a beer.
There are those who will tell you not to give money to those who ask, and would never, ever consider giving money to someone so they could buy beer, of all things. "Don't encourage them," you might hear.
Well, encouragement is precisely what they need, even if it's just passing on a sincere "good luck" as you pass out of the moment of interaction. It's tough out there on the streets--so many people may, hopefully, never quite understand HOW tough it can be. I've been there, though it's now been several years, and I will never forget it.
This encounter reminded me of that past and I don't think that's a bad thing. We could all use those little reminders of our current good fortune, such as it is, and some of the trials we've had to go through to get there. More people could use a true understanding of how life is like for those who don't have anyplace specific to hang their hats.
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