Today broke my heart. Normally the panhandlers down at the Piggly Wiggly get on my nerves but they have learned that I am no gravy train and they leave me alone. Monday is “payday” for me as I give myself $75 dollars a week in spending money so I walked down to the Piggly Wiggly to get the provisions to make some homemade spaghetti. I was almost out of things to eat. I also wanted to treat myself as this is my favorite meal.
I saw George which was surprising as I thought he was in Jail for a long term. I wrote a story about it but will post it later. I walked on in the store and bought my groceries and walked out. This guy standing outside made a bee line towards me. I have seen him hanging out in front of the store the past few days but he is shy.
“Sir, I don’t mean to bother you. I don’t need much.” He said nervously.
He was definitely not one of the regular, hardened Piggly Wiggly Groupies so I took the time to hear his spiel and story. He went on to tell me that he had advanced AIDS and had just got out of the hospital and had no where to go. He still had his hospital band around his wrist. He slept on the bench in front of the Pig last night and it was darn cold. His family doesn’t understand HIV and they think you can get it by contact and they are afraid of him.
“All I be wantin’ is some groceries or something to eat.” He said.
He was tall and as skinny as a rail and looked hungry and not like the other Piggly Wiggly panhandlers. George, Slop, and Cap with Tag are all not missing any meals.
“Walk over with me to Wings and Things and I will get us both a bite to eat and we can talk.” I replied.
We walked over and sat down in the restaurant. They have a special this week on a burger, fries, and drink for $2.99. I ordered us both each a special. We talked for a long time and I shared my story with him. He asked me a lot of questions about how to get help and I told him how to apply for disability as I am sure he would qualify with having AIDS. I told him that I would print off some resources and phone numbers from my computer and bring them down to him tomorrow in front of the store on my daily walk down there.
I felt so sorry for the guy but felt so helpless as there are no shelters or soup kitchens around here. A similar thing happened to me last year and I had to sleep in the woods. I was lucky I already had an income and good camping gear and was prepared to some extent. I still can’t get the look on that guy’s face out of mind. It will haunt me for the rest of the evening I fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment