Every neighborhood has them. Though you usually do not see them until just before the trash is picked up. I’m not talking about rats but about the “homeless” that forage in trash and recycle bins looking for food or soda bottles to trade in for 5 cents each.
My neighborhood has Tom. He has been coming around for over a year and I’ve learned a lot from him in that time. I learned that just because you are combing through trash, doesn’t mean that you are homeless. Tom is on disability, his wife works part-time, his daughter, who works, and her two children live with them. They barely make ends meet. They are not homeless but they are one paycheck away from being homeless.
The reason I write this post isn’t to tell you Tom’s sad plight but to honor him. Even though he is in chronic pain from a back and hip condition, he volunteers two nights a week at Salvation Army to help the homeless that are sheltered there. He does it because he knows how close they are to being the same way. He is also a drug/alcohol counselor – voluntarily.
My point is this, the ones that do not have much, seem to be the ones that give back more often. The ones in pain are the ones that push themselves.
This blog is about Tom but it is in thanks to the millions like him that need to forage for food and money, yet give of themselves for free – just because.
Ravyn's Ramblings 