I just had a really interesting experience while filling up gas. It was probably more interesting for me than for you. After hitting up Einstein Bros for tomorrow’s breakfast, I stopped to get gas. When I pulled up to the front pump, I noticed that there was a homeless man sitting against the curb, so I instinctively reversed away to the one behind. When I got out, he asked from a distance, “Hey, could you spare a dollar?” I never give money to random people on the streets, because I don’t know what they are going to do with it or if they are running one of those scams I always hear about. So I simply responded, “No, sorry,” and continued pumping my gas. With nothing to do but think to myself and watch those dollars of gas add up, I remembered I had two bagels. I went to the homeless man who had nothing more than a small suitcase and asked him if he was hungry. Immediately, he said “Oh yes.” I then told him I couldn’t give him any money, but I did have some food. He said Id appreciate that. I told him to wait a second, grabbed a bagel, cream cheese, and a knife to spread it with, and brought it back to him. To say that he was grateful is a gross understatement. After handing it to him he politely said thank you and started to break the bagel apart. I walked away to finish at the gas pump and drove off. I stopped at the red light immediately adjacent to the gas station. By the time the light hit green (probably now within 90 seconds of handing him the bagel), he had finished the entire bagel and all the cream cheese. He wasn’t scamming anyone. Of course at this point the typical clichés are going through my head – be grateful for what you have, treat everyone like a human being, help others, etc. But I think what really hit me about this incident is not that he was homeless, or that he was hungry, or that I felt like I did a good deed (although those are all things I am certainly thinking about). What hit me was that not three minutes before this encounter, when I was at Einstein’s getting my bagels, I made a deliberate decision to buy two bagels (along with two overfilled cream cheese spreads), consciously acknowledging that there was a decent chance I would not actually be able to finish the second, but that I’d grab it just in case so I would have the option to eat it if I needed. I also specifically asked them to give me two smaller spread containers instead of the big one. And the only reason I was at Einsteins in the first place is because it happened to be right across from Panera where I had lunch and I had a craving for a bagel. And the only reason I needed gas is because between Panera and Einsteins my tank went to below 1/4 full. I bought an extra bagel for no apparent reason, and not 3 minutes later, this guy 10 yards away could ask for nothing more. This whole thing happened in a period of maybe 5 minutes and within a distance of maybe 30 feet. Perhaps this was life trying to teach me a lesson? Perhaps this was all a divine plan? It was probably just coincidence. If there was supposed to be a message, I very well might have missed it. But I’m glad I bought that extra bagel.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 22:25:48 +0000
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