Friday, November 26, 2004

The Day After

The Original Party People have left the building, and high tailed it back down south where there is no snow.

Yesterday was wonderful as usual, as we spent the day feeding those way less fortunate then ourselves. It is not an easy thing to do. I volunteer at this place on "normal" days, but it is especially hard to see that some people literally have no one on a holiday.

I believe it sucks out just a bit of your soul, and that is a gift to those people. I hope it gave even just a spark of hope or love to people that have none.

Some there were not coherent enough to express thanks, but you could see it in their eyes. They are the ones that people talk about-oh the homeless, they are just strung out, drunks, or mentally ill.

These people are sick. The last time I checked, sick people deserve our compassion, our love. They deserve our charity and our patience. They deserve help and understanding, not contempt and intolerance.

Some of the people were none of these things, and they are just down on their luck. The deserve all said things too. They are humans, they are hurting, they are in trouble, and they need help.

God, fate, or whoever you believe in has blessed me in countless ways. I have been overly blessed. I truly believe you never know just how blessed you are until you see those who have so much less. Those that have so little you wonder how they survive.

I am so thankful, oh yes I am.

4 comments:

MaxedOutMama said...

You really are a fine person! It's good of you to do that, but great of you to do that without feeling contempt or disgust for those people in desperate circumstances. Yes, a lot of the homeless are mentally ill, but that doesn't mean it's willful illness.

In any case, I can't help but believe that having you there made their day brighter. The subtleties do count, and I'm sure your attitude comes through.

Pink Poppy said...

Hey K! You are so right. Yesterday, I went to pick up my mom (who has very little memory function left) to bring her to have Thanksgiving Dinner with us. She was dressed better than any of us. You would never know that there was anything wrong with her if you didn't spend some time with her. She was so happy and cheerful. She enjoyed dinner immensely.

Then, she started asking where her clothes were. She wanted to know where she was sleeping. She was confused, bewildered and getting upset. I took her back home so that she could get her bearings and find her clothes and, most importantly her shoes (the woman can't remember the names of her children, but by golly she knows EXACTLY how many pairs of shoes she has--AND what they look like).

She is on all of the latest medications to help her function as normally as possible. And, yet, if she didn't have the best medical care...if she didn't have family close by...if she didn't have anyone to comfort and reassure her when she is confused, she would be exactly like those poor souls you served yesterday. She has two Masters degrees, was an award-winning teacher, and has a family who will love and care for her. There is truly one degree of separation between my mother and those you served yesterday: LOVE. Love is all that separates them. Bless you and your family for giving them a taste of that yesterday....

Anonymous said...

White text on light green is hard on the eyes.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for changing the color of your blog to read better.

I think living in San Francisco has made me numb of all the homeless that are present. It's a sad case but they turn up here because of the gov plan the city gives them, I think $300/month. It's disheartening but I have to keep that wall there or else, I would just be overcome with emotion every time I see a homeless person.

:: Mona ::