Homeless Need Help! Part II: Lunch

I brought this individual, whom I had seen before, a sack lunch this morning on my way to work.  What happened next was somewhat unbelievable to me......

I wrote yesterday about a recent encounter I had with what I assumed to be a homeless person on my drive in to work.

I didn't like the way it ended, as I described in my post about it.

So this morning I brought a non-perishable bag lunch with me on my commute to work on the off chance that this individual might be on the Cervantes Street overpass again, soliciting for help.

He was there.

So as I pulled up this morning as the light turned green, I pulled up beside him, put my flashers on and rolled down the window, and he came over to the car.  I handed him the bag lunch and said "I brought a lunch for you today-God bless you."  He took the bag with a smile-- and with one single motion-- as I

 was pulling away, he slung the bag over his shoulder to the ground.

I rolled up the window and went on my way.  But, astonished, I thought to myself---why just drop it like that?  The sign says "Homeless Need Help" so I brought a lunch!

I brought a second lunch with me
today on my way to work, so I could
give it to a homeless man I saw on
the freeway recently....He wanted no 
part of it apparently.

Luckily,  the non-perishable lunch I brought was also durable.  it was canned food, a pull-open can of baked beans, a pull-open can of Vienna sausages, a bottled water, and a box of candy (sour patch watermelon).  I also put napkins and a spoon in there as well.

I can only think that maybe when the traffic dies down he will at least look inside the bag and see there is something there he can eat or trade.  Maybe not.

"He is probably an addict--you're lucky he didn't stick you" said one person I told this about this morning.

"He will definitely take the food later--before he leaves" said another.

"Jeff-no truer sign that he is clearly mentally ill and we have no resources to deal with it.  And it's epidemic right now between that and substance abuse" said another individual when told how this went down.

I tend to be somewhat cynical on issues like this--and I have a major pet peeve with the wasting of food.  Although it wasn't an expensive, fancy lunch--it was a gesture of good will.

Hopefully the guy at least takes a look;  even if he's a crack-addicted wreck--he's still got to eat, right--and why throw away bottled water?

Who knows......