This morning I gave to a panhandler
I rarely give money to panhandlers. I don’t really have a good reason why. I smile and nod and look the person in the eye while I decline, but I don’t open my purse.
After many mornings of smiling and nodding and saying hello to a man who speaks to me whenever I pass by on the way to the train, I started to think I that I should at least be able to greet the man by name. A couple of weeks ago he got on the train when I did. I felt like I should say, “Hello. I see you nearly every day, and I don’t know your name. My name is Meg.” But I didn’t.
Today I did. So now Ronald and I are speaking on more than an ask-and-decline basis. He needed to get on the train, so I put enough for one trip on a transit card and handed it to him. And he told me a little about his circumstances.
He coughed and said that he’s trying to quit smoking. “That’s hard to do,” I said. “The president’s had a hard time quitting too.” I was taking gum from my purse for myself, so I offered him a piece. “Might help you put off that next cigarette,” I said.
Next time I see Ronald, I probably still won’t give him money. But now instead of just “No,” I can say, “Good morning, Ronald,” and maybe, “Would you like a piece of gum?”
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Meg–I recently blogged about a homeless guy named Ronald also: http://greenroomthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/08/jury-duty-and-homeless-people.html.
Nice post.