Martini Musing: Castles or Cardboard Boxes?
It’s Friday and my birthday - so I reserve the right to get all serious on you in this post.
Yesterday I did something I’ve not done years - I rolled down my car window and gave five bucks to the guy standing on the corner with a cardboard sign. I don’t know how he spent the money and I don’t care. So, just why did I give him the money? Three reasons:
1. I had just that morning read Maureen Rogers’ post, LeBron James Builds His Dream House (35,440 sq. ft.), in which she talks about her work with St. Francis House, a large day shelter with a largely homeless clientele. She writes (as only Maureen can),
“Just as Donald Trump is entitled to spend money he may or may not have on his wretched excess Versailles gold-and-mirror apartment in Trump Tower…Just as Al Gore’s is entitled to his 10,000 square foot ‘wouldn’t it be nice to gave all the kids and grandkids under one roof and have every sub-family have their own bath, etc. or whatever else was going on in his and Tipper’s head when they built it house…Just as I am entitled to a brief meditation on whether we’d all be better off without all of these excrescences.”
2. A friend of mine is the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Homeless Project here in Albuquerque. She’s really helped me separate reality from myth - many homeless people are not on the streets “by choice,” nor are they drug addicts nor are they crazy. And, something like 30% of them are veterans.
3. Maybe just maybe the money meant more than $5 to the guy. My looking him in the eye and thanking him for his “God Bless You” may have made his day just a little less dismal.
Call me a bleeding heart - better a heart that bleeds than none at all. And, there have been times in my life when I came awfully close to standing on a corner with a cardboard sign…Here’s Maureen with the clincher,
“Even if you don’t have a 35,000 square foot house. Or a 58 bedroom mansion. Or a relatively modest Al and Tipper sized “cottage”. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably got a place to call home.
Just remember that there are plenty of people out there who don’t. “
Read More: All my Friday Martini Time posts.
If you’d like to leave a comment, please do so. It may take a bit to show up since I hate making people type in little letters (I can’t read most of them myself) - so I moderate all comments. Feel free to disagree - debate is healthy. However, I’ve blacklisted the worst obscenities, including the “f” word, as part of the troll wall.
Tags: homelessness, Mary Schmidt
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April 7th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Awesome post. It looks like you made yourself a little better of a birthday too.
April 9th, 2007 at 5:58 am
To me, this is just like buying a car. (Work with me here!)
Giving money to a “homeless guy” and buying a car share one similarity: So much uncertainty about what’s true/untrue that it’s hard to feel good about a purchase/donation.
It’s hard to have a heartwarming moment of good-deediness when you hand over a fiver and hear your uncle’s voice warning you that “some of those guys make real good money scamming people like you.” Just like it’s hard to get excited about buying a car if you’re constantly worried that you didn’t get the best deal because the salesman is “playing you like a Stradivarius.” (Did I even spell that correctly?)
In either instance, a moment of joy or peace or warmheartedness turns into uncertainty. For most people, it’s just easier not to do the good deed, or not to question the price.
Aren’t we some of the strangest creatures?
April 9th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Happy belated birthday.