I did the grocery shopping late yesterday afternoon at Kroger and there was an unsettling incident that occurred while I was there. I reacted to it in a way that has been bothering me since then. I was standing in one of the aisles with my buggy (along with an elderly gentleman and his grandson who were a few feet away from me) and heard a commotion at the end of the aisle I was on. I looked down the aisle to see this man running towards me. I was startled at his appearance as his cargo shorts were split up the inseam all the way to the waistband, his T-shirt was tattered and dirty and full of holes, his hair was long and unkempt under a dirty baseball cap, he was distressed and cupping his hand over his family jewels to cover them up as he ran and his shorts flapped open and he had a small bag of apples in his other hand. Several feet behind him was a manager chasing him and telling him he had to leave the store or he was calling the police, that they didnt allow people in there improperly dressed like that. The man was yelling back at the manager that he wasnt leaving until he got what he came for so go ahead and call the police, that he wasnt doing anything wrong. They turned the corner and went out of my sight but a few seconds later the man came back running up behind me with the manager still chasing him. I briefly thought I hope he doesnt think Im in his way and shove me out of the way or knock me down to get past me and I pushed myself up against the shelves to get out of his way. I was alarmed and a bit fearful at that point. I could see that he was extremely distressed and I felt like he was probably embarrassed that everyone in the vicinity was staring at him. I stood there shaking my head like some people just dont get it. The first time he passed me I was amused by it all, the second time I was afraid. Last night and today I couldnt stop thinking about him and Im ashamed of myself. Im thinking that someone in their right mind wouldnt do that. Im thinking that hes probably one of the millions of seriously mentally ill and probably homeless people who is either living on the street or living in his car. Im ashamed that instead of shaking my head and letting fear get to me that I didnt step up and ask him if he needed help. I really think he did need help. I dont know what I couldve done at that moment besides offer to buy his items and meet him outside the store to give them to him so the police wouldnt be called on him. I feel awful today that I didnt at least offer to help him by doing that for him. What was I thinking?
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:43:45 +0000
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