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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI Fed A Hungry Person Today.
My ritual on Saturdays when I have to work is Chinese food. (My favorite!) I am walking to my car when this little, but obviously pregnant woman approached me and said she was hungry and hadn't eaten all day. I was saddened to tell her that I didn't have any money (true, no cash) and she said, "That's ok, but thank you anyway." I then said to her, "Wait, do you like Chinese Food?" Her face brightened and she said "YES!"
I took her into the restaurant and bought her a meal of shrimp fried rice and spare ribs. I couldn't stay to talk to her because I had to go to work, but her short story is that she was laid off and travelling form the north down to Ft. Lauderdale where she had family. She had just enough gas money to get her there, but no money for food.
I suppose I just wanted to share this because it felt really good to help someone who was so in need of help. Please be kind to a stranger. If you can't stop to give help, at least give a little wave or a peace sign. Times are tough out there.
mattvermont
(646 posts)Acts like that are what gives meaning to our sorry myopic lives.
I love how these acts lift us up as well.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)CurtEastPoint
(18,644 posts)at least give a little wave or a peace sign. Times are tough out there."
socialindependocrat
(1,372 posts)was in a Boston Market and he ordered his meal and
they said they had a deal - whatever - you get so
much and they give you a whole chicken.
He thought - for free - why not
But, he didn't know what he was going to do with the extra chicken.
When he went outside he saw a homeless person sitting there in the parking lot and he gave the chicken to him.
My friend was tickled pink!!
It was a happy moment for them both..
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)In the past I worked in a school cafeteria. People would be amazed at all the food that is thrown out at the end of the day. I am sure it happens also with restaurants. All this perfectly good food (not SERVED) could be given away to the homeless and the hungry rather than be thrown in the garbage.
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)Being fired a second time for giving food to the homeless means that you have a lovely and compassionate and incredibly selfless daughter who puts others' wellbeing ahead of her own with full knowledge of what the consequences to her could be. What a wonderful person!
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)I am so very proud of her. She is now helping to open a free clinic in her small town. It's a volunteer position until she finishes her medical office internship, then she will be on the payroll.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)unapatriciated
(5,390 posts)We don't have sales, one of the reasons why is we donate daily to the local food bank.
At store closing we pull all date coded items with two - three shelf days before expiration. We box it (freezing the meat) the next day the local food bank picks up the donation.
The other reasons my company does this is that it saves them money. They get a tax deduction and do not incur the cost related to constant weekly sales. It also promotes good will in the community for our stores.
liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)I love stories like this. Times ARE tough out there, but there are more people like yourself stepping up than we would think. Thank you for sharing. Beautiful post!
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)which may well end up being spent on drugs or alcohol.
demosincebirth
(12,537 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)to take home for their families.
shireen
(8,333 posts)I never assume anything about them. If someone asks for money, I give them what I can, no questions asked. What they do with it is their choice to make.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)and later found out that the person I had given the cash to was a "professional", not really homeless, and probably making more money than me. Given that I have limited resources to donate, I now prefer to make sure that what I give actually helps the homeless to eat.
ret5hd
(20,491 posts)was just tiniest bit smaller becUse of how the money was spent?
i didn't think so.
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)LuckyLib
(6,819 posts)for all if we withhold judgment about what it will be used for. That's not the giver's decision to make.
MarianJack
(10,237 posts)PEACE!
whathehell
(29,067 posts)I once gave some poor middle-aged woman panhandling in the street a
twenty dollar bill...It was worth twice that much just to see the look on her face.
handmade34
(22,756 posts)when the situation arises we take people asking for help into a buffet restaurant and pay... let them have their fill
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)and then... A musician sang to me:
"Out of the way
It's a busy day
I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice,
the old man died."
Those words really meant something to me. That was 30 years ago. I still give whatever I can.
Little Star
(17,055 posts)Dragonbreathp9d
(2,542 posts)dembotoz
(16,804 posts)thank you
rustydog
(9,186 posts)You did GREAT! You are my hero.
Lunabelle
(454 posts)I still have a warm glow from giving. I feel so truly blessed in this life. I'm not rich and don't have a high paying job. I'm just a nurse with a big fat liberal bleeding heart!!!!!
applegrove
(118,656 posts)I'm too skittish to sit down with someone and feed them. I just trust that the money will go to where they need it most. Good for you for helping that woman out.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)Prism
(5,815 posts)In North Berkeley, there's this little old woman - a bone cancer survivor - just about the nicest person you could ever want to meet. Sometimes she sits outside Chez Panisse, a very high-priced, trendy restaurant, with her little cup. I talk to her sometimes when walking a patient around the neighborhood at night. Around New Year's, it was so cold out, and there she was, all wrapped up, sitting on a bucket. I couldn't help it. I reached into my wallet, grabbed what was in there, and put it in her cup. I don't know how much it was. I didn't care.
Sometimes you see suffering and need and just have to do something.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)BrendaBrick
(1,296 posts)touching post.