The other day I was walking in Chicago. We were downtown. I passed this corner with this homeless lady holding a sign wanting some cash. I see a lot of these people. Its almost part of the landscape these days. In this economy you can even begin to see how it can happen. So this lady is holding this sign needing a few bucks. Then I see this teenage girl, she looked sweet you know-like she hadn't done much city living, she says something to her friend. The homeless lady was outside a McDonald's and the girls were about to go in and probably grab some lunch. So the girl turns to the lady and gestures towards the McDonald's. I can't make out what she is saying but I'm sure she offered to buy her a double cheeseburger meal or something. I give the girl credit too because I can just picture her train of thought. She saw the lady and felt bad for her. Then she had a dilemma: Should I give her money, walk away, or BINGO: I could offer to buy her a meal and a. I would be helping her out and b. I could ensure that this money isn't going to booze (yes I said it). The lady looks up at the girl and glances at the McDonald's windows. Then she shakes no, turns her head to the next wave of strangers crossing the street and sticks out her sign in front of their trail of vision. The girl shrugs and goes inside. So what are we supposed to think about this? Should I assume the lady just wanted money to buy booze? Maybe someone had already got her lunch that day from McDonald's? Did a layer of the girl's desire to help the homeless diminish a bit from that moment? Its all too complicated what is right and what is helpful and what we should think to ourselves when those who are standing on a corner with a sign refuse our help if the help doesn't come in dollar bills.
But maybe little kids from the west side of Chicago (where I teach) know more about this topic than I do. I always think back to my student who wrote a story in writer's workshop. The story went like this, he said: "I was going to the gas station this one hot afternoon by myself. I went to get a pop. I was thirsty. I saw this homeless man standing by the door. I saw him a lot and I wondered about him. Did he have a family? Did his family want him to come home? Or has he always been alone and lost in this world? I was about to go inside and the guy says to me, "boy give me five bucks I really need it." So I did. I don't know why I did, but I thought I should. Later when I came out of the store with grape pop, there was the man standing there with a brown bag. And I knew he took my five bucks and bought liquor. So you know what I thought now. I thought maybe this is why his family doesn't want him to come home-because he drinks too much. He loves drinking more than himself. And I felt really mad then at him and at myself for giving him the money. I'm not stupid. I never gave that man money again. But I can't help always think about him drinking liquor out of a five dollar brown paper bag"
I found my student's story to be pretty profound for a nine year old. Its funny how our interactions with one another-fellow man kind can cause us to change the way we view ourselves and the world around us-in the simplest of interactions and moments. Whether they make us better or worse, we can't help but immerse ourselves in them.
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