Waiting quietly in the line, the homeless man observed the agitated customers around him, watching the cashier become more upset by the minute. Hungry and thirsty, and yet no one noticed him nor his plight. When he reached the counter he fumbled through his pockets for the money strangers had given him earlier in the day.
As the clerk patiently waited, she said in a loud enough voice for other customers to hear, “Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”
While others found her inept and quite slow, the homeless man was grateful that she showed him compassion.
“Have a nice day,” she said.
“You too,” he replied. “By the way, I’m Kevin. Hope I see you again soon.”
As Kevin walked away, the cashier couldn’t help but wonder if she would.
I just saw a video on Facebook yesterday, showing homeless people writing one thing about them on a piece of cardboard. Those facts were amazing and humbling – some of them had a degree, spoke many languages, escaped domestic violence, had a job and still were homeless. So hard to look past that appearance of a homeless person, to see that there’s more inside.