homeless-guy

Photo lifted here.

The other day, I forfeited my break so I could mail a package to my nephew in Canada. I promised him that I’d mail a CD of Stephanie Mae, which was the last copy I had, by the way.

I’d like to be the first person to wait outside the door of the post office right before it opens because I only have a 10-minute break to mail a package. Often times though, 3 to 4 people are already waiting before I even get there. One of them is Johnny – the homeless guy.

Johnny is a very nice guy.  He avails of the general delivery option that the PO offers for free for transient, far-flung tourist, and for the homeless.  He comes to the PO to get his mail pretty much at the same time every day. Johnny always has that big smile for me and for everybody. And he gladly offers his spot to me even though he is there first. I don’t usually take him up on his offer unless I am in a hurry, but that day, there were already 4 to 5 people ahead of me, so I was compelled to take it.

While standing in line along with him and the other customers, I smelled a rather strong odor. I knew right away it came from Johnny. He probably hasn’t taken a shower and changed his clothes in a month. I had to face away from him to try to avoid the smell. But I couldn’t get away from it.

It has always been my policy to avoid giving to homeless people unless it is absolutely necessary. If they look capable of doing manual labor like pushing carts, washing dishes in the restaurants, and cleaning bathrooms, I refuse to give money.  Heck, one of my daughters bagged groceries and pushed carts for some time in a grocery store when she was 16 years old weighing barely a 100 pounds.  If she can push carts, why can’t they?

For some reasons, I pondered on Johnny a lot that morning. He could really use some toiletries and non-perishable food. I thought I’d buy him those goods at the Dollar Store and have E, the clerk, hand them to him the following morning.

The next morning, E showed up at the break room where I was taking a break and shared with me what transpired between her and Johnny. E made up a story. She told Johnny that a guy who stood next to him in the lobby had a plastic of goodies for him. Johnny wanted to know who the guy was so he could thank him but E felt it was not a good idea to disclose the name so she made up some little white lies that she didn’t know the giver’s name, and that she would thank the person for him the next time he comes at the window.

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