Down on His Luck

His eyes were glassy. A white plastic grocery bag with a can of beer in it dangled from his right arm. A belt that didn’t quite fit held up his old tattered blue jeans that hung loosely below his waist. He looked old and weathered. I saw him walking across the parking lot toward Tim and me. He approached us as we were struggling to load a potted Japanese maple tree into our car.

He politely said, “Excuse me. I apologize for interrupting you, but I need some help. I am homeless and need to catch a train. Could you please take me to the train station? I just talked to my brother and he is sending me a ticket. I am so sorry to bother you.”

Tim and I looked at each other as we were loading the tree. He seemed harmless enough. He just appeared to be down on his luck.

He got in the back of our van and began to tell us his story. His name was Robert. He was in the 21^st infantry and was stationed in Italy where he met and married an Italian woman. They came back to the states but he was never home, and she didn’t want to be married to a husband who was a military man. She wanted a husband who was there with her. She divorced him after they had their daughter. He told us that her brother attempted to abuse his daughter. His temper caused him to spend time in jail and he racked up a $30,000 legal bill.

He was born in 1972, but looked like an old man. He apologized several times for asking us for a ride. He said he cleaned up at the Gospel Mission this morning, but said he was sorry if he smelled. As he got out of the car at the bus station he thanked us for being so kind. He shook both of our hands and went inside the station.

Today’s gift was taking Robert to the train station. We later thought that maybe we should have offered him some money too. We don’t know if any of his story is true. We do know that some people are down on their luck just like Robert and need a little help when they can get it.

In Giving,

Robin