Part 7 of the Life on the Street series...
Sorry for the lull in chapters…I'm back.
After the visit at the high school where my daughter performed I had to find a place to head or a direction to go to find either a late breakfast or a lunch somewhere. I knew I still had just under $4 left so I thought I would head toward the mall. There was a talent show there that afternoon that one of my sons had registered for so I thought that I would go that direction. I set off walking, once again – the weather was ok but my feet and socks and boots were quickly drenched and cold. It was about two hours to get to the mall and I arrived just as the competition was getting underway. It was nice to sit down and to be warm again (even though I was wet). My son found me and was actually buying a 6" Subway sandwich and they had a buy one get one free sale. I thought – "surely, he will get me a sandwich." I waited. He texted his brother and asked if he wanted one – then decided that he would just eat it later. After a few moments of thought he offered it to me…"Hey, Dad, are you hungry?" YES! Thanks. I wolfed it down but it hardly touched the hunger at that point. It took the edge off.
I enjoyed the warmth for a couple of hours while I was watching the competition and then once it was over had to decide where to go and what to do. As of his point – I had really not outright asked anyone for help. I was wanting to see what people would initiate on their own from their own heart and found that it is just like me – look the other way or at least pretend you are not offended by the smelly guy and let it go at that. Well, it was time to swallow my pride and see how people reacted to an outright request (begging). I walked to the Taco Bell and waited until the counter cleared and then I told the cashier that I was on the streets for a couple of days and wondered if they had some sort of temporary work that I could do to earn a couple of tacos. He seemed sympathetic and so he went to ask his manager. He returned with a sad smile and said they could not help me BUT he then reached under the counter and handed me a cup and said "please get a drink before you go." He felt bad – I could tell. So, - I got a cup of water and then drank that and walked to the McDonalds down the street. There I asked the teenage cashier the same thing and he gave me to his supervisor. She said she was not sure what they could do but she would check with her manager. While she was gone the off shift supervisor was congratulating everyone on a record day! $10,000 between 7 AM and 3 PM! We have never done that before – great job – Rah Rah! I am thinking, well then, I should be able to get a free hamburger or something!
The supervisor came back and said they could not hire me to do anything today because of their hiring rules and procedures. "So sorry, sir. But my manager had this $4 and said she was going to trust you and give this to you to help you out."
I tried to refuse the money but she pushed it into my hand. I spent it right there and got two burgers and two apple pies ( I figured that I could eat cold apple pies later and that they would be better than a cold burger). I thanked them and then I walked.
I walked and began to try to hitchhike…no one…I arrived at a gas station and asked for newspapers (old, new whatever). No luck. So I kept walking. I was within two miles of my next begging point (SR 19 and CR 20) two Speedways and a restaurant, when a car stopped. I jumped and was surprised at my own prejudice even now!
Two more to wrap things up – "A Ride to the Dumpster", "Staying Warm and Drying Out" .
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