Yesterday morning I was driving back from the gym and came to a four-way stop. Cars were waiting from every direction, but the showdown of who should cross first came down to a school bus and a pick up truck. The truck had obviously been there first, but it didn't move, so finally the bus turned in front of it. It was my turn next, so I waited for the truck, but it still didn't move. I got tired of waiting, and as I drove past it, I looked at the driver to see if he was having car trouble or if something else was causing the hold up. It was an old man, sitting there in the seat, staring off into space. It didn't appear that he was frantically trying to start his vehicle, or turn on the emergency flashers, or call on a phone for help. He was just sitting there, watching as everyone else drove past him.
I kept looking back in my rearview mirror as I drove on. All the other cars continued to take turns as normal, except for those cars behind the truck. More and more cars started to line up behind him.
At first I thought, Wow. What on earth is he doing? What an idiot! But then I stopped to wonder: What if he had had a stroke right there in the middle of the road? What if he suffered from dementia and suddenly couldn't figure out where he was or what he was supposed to do?
I forgot about the inconvenience and started to worry about him.
This morning at Starbucks I wanted to sit on the leather couch by the fire, but there was a little old man sitting there sleeping. I almost said something to Dylan, like, Why would you sleep in Starbucks?, but then I noticed the man's raggedy clothes and his little backpack on the floor.
Homeless? Probably.
I'm so ashamed of myself.
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