First off I am going to say that in this post I am not looking for any of praise or accolades. But something amazing happened to me today that I feel I need to share because we all see stories of things happening but when you experience it first hand it is something completely different. And sorry but it is long So I am working in my hotel in San Diego and I head out to get some food. As I am walking down the street I see the sub place I like so I walk towards it. As I am walking I notice a middle aged man sitting on the curb with a child who appears to be around 8-10 years old. As I walk past I noticed they are homeless and the man is holding a sign that say “Please don’t give me money but help me feed my son”. As most people I keep walking because we don’t stop to think. But I did notice a tattoo on his forearm that looked very familiar to me. As I am standing in the line to get a sandwich something makes me leave and go talk to the man. I asked him if his sign was real and if he only cared about feeding his son. He responded with “yes my son is what matters more then money or food for myself”. I asked him if I could buy him and his son lunch he asked me only to get his son lunch. So I took them both into the sub shop and I got them both lunch. I asked the father if he and his son would sit with me and enjoy a meal and some nice conversation. He agreed and said it would be nice to not be treated like a outcast. Mean while the son did not speak at all. We sit down to have lunch and I and I don’t ask him why but I asked him the following “I saw you have dog tags tattooed on your arm. What branch” he replied Army. I asked what division he said “Calvary Scout Sir 19 Delta” then it all hit for me. I explained to him that my son in law is a Calvary Scout 19D and is stationed in upstate NY. I then asked him how long he served and he told me 12years and when he got out he came home back to California. I asked him if he would mind telling me his story he said sure but didn’t want to go into to much detail because his son was there. He told me after Operation Iraqi Freedom he came home and could not find work and he lost his home. After living with family and friends his marriage started to get bad and then his wife passed away from drug abuse. Honestly it is a story that is all to familiar to so many former military. I then asked him why he had a sign asking to just feed his son instead of money. He replied “ Because my son is the most important thing in the world and he has to grow up to make a better life” I asked if his son went to school and he said “yes but they are on spring break” I asked about housing and he said they live in a nice shelter where they can bath and sleep. As him and I were speaking the whole time his son still had not said a word. As they were finishing up I had the counter person make them a second sandwich each so they could eat later. He reluctantly accepted the sandwich for himself and said I did more then anyone had. I told him I had have family and friends in the military and some have them have also lost their homes as well so I under stand. As we got ready to leave the little boy finally spoke and said thank you to me and then asked me if I had a son. I said yes and then he said “Your son is just as lucky as I am to have a dad who cares about other people” I did everything I could not to tear up. As we left the father shook my hand and said “remember one thing don’t take life for granted because I did” I asked him if they needed a place to stay tonight and offered to get him and his son a hotel room. He told me he appreciated it but they would be fine and thanked me. I thank him for his time and for his service to our country. As I left the little boy waved and said thank you again. As I walked back to my hotel I thought about everything and realized I do take life for granted sometimes. I have an amazing life, a great family and friends and have been blessed with a great career and a future that is looking awesome. We all have our ups and down we all go through hard times. But this mans resolve and happiest I saw in him was truly amazing. I said to my wife the other day “I don’t know how people can always be so outwardly happy all the time” then I said I am happy but I just don’t show it 24/7. She said I should and I said “I don’t know how”. This man and his son showed me that no matter what you go through including serving your country for freedom and the right to live your life. That even though he has gone trough things I don’t wish on anyone he still had a positive outlook and an amazing love of his son. Just meeting him and listening to him was truly inspiring and has made me rethink so much of my life and where things need to go.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 22:15:14 +0000
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