Corner Kindness

My partner David and I visited Chicago recently.  We were exploring the city, which is BIG, cold, and windy in this time of year.  One evening we were rushing back to our niece’s home, where we were staying, for dinner.  We were walking toward the L – Chicago’s version of a subway/metro system.  Because it was cold and we were running late, we were walking briskly.  I noticed an African American man, maybe my age, sitting on a corner right outside a Walgreen’s store, but we walked past.

We got about a block away when I told David that I felt bad for passing the man by.  He hadn’t asked us for anything, but he had a small cup in his hand to collect money, and it was obvious he was homeless.  So, we turned around and walked back to meet him.

Once again, as we approached, he did not ask for anything.  He sat in silence under the store awning on the cold, dark evening.  I greeted him, then said, “I do not have any money to give you.  But we will get you WHATEVER you want from this store.  What would you like???”. 

His eyes lit up.  He smiled at us.  “You will get ME something???”, he asked us incredulously.  “Yes!  Whatever you want.  What would you like?” I asked him with a smile.  It didn’t take long for him to smile back and say in a very clear voice, “GREEN GRAPES!!”. 

Now, I must say at this point, that I had been worried he would ask for alcohol.  It was a big store, and bottles of booze were displayed in the window.  I had a plan – if he asked for alcohol or cigarettes, I had planned to say I could get him anything except those items.  But he did not ask for those things.  GREEN GRAPES were all he wished for.  And just the idea of the grapes seemed to make him very happy!

“Is there anything else you need or want??” I asked.  “Maybe gloves??” David added.  Why yes, he did need some gloves, as it was cold out and he had none.  Before we popped into the store I said, “We will be right back, don’t go anywhere!” and he smiled a big smile at me and said, “I ain’t goin’ NO WHERE!!”.

In we went, afraid that Walgreens was not the right type of store to find green grapes.  But lo and behold, there they were, a small refrigerated section displayed some very nice grapes!  Ok, got those!  Then found some soft, warm black gloves.  Then grabbed a couple of hand warmers and a bottle of water.  Then, for good measure and a bit of protein, we got some trail mix for him.

We brought everything out in a bag and showed it to him.  He was so very, very happy.  “I don’t even know your name,” I realized.  “I can tell you who I am.  I – I am JEFFREY THEODORE…”.  He told us his last name, too, and his rank in the military.  Yes, it turned out that he, as so many other homeless people, was a veteran.  I thanked him for his service and he told us about places he had been deployed.  David asked if he was connected to the VA and if they assisted him, and he politely explained that, when you had been in the military as long as he had been, sometimes you felt a need to “disconnect” from that and not work with the VA.

We told him our names and then he asked if we could do him a favor.  He held out his hands to us.  His hands that probably hadn’t been washed in quite a while, the hands we had seen wipe his nose as it ran from the cold weather. 

And we held his hands.  We stood, the 3 of us, a small circle of hope on a dark, cold night.  And Jeffrey prayed.  The man who had nothing and wanted only grapes, prayed.  But he didn’t pray for housing or for food or for money.  HE PRAYED FOR US.  Not to convert us, but to thank the Lord that people stopped and had kindness in their hearts.  He wished for peace and kindness in the world. 

Tears streamed down my face.  It was all so beautiful.  We gave him grapes, he gave us the world all he had in the world.  Strong hands to hold.  A renewed belief in humanity.  And kindness.

For accounting purposes, we spent $20.37 of the money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale on this act.  It felt impossible to measure the happiness and peace that came as a result of that small amount.  THANK YOU to everyone who donated and shopped at the Kindness Yard Sale. 

$316.87 of the proceeds from the yard sale is squirreled away waiting for perfect opportunities to use.  And $229.43 has already been used for kindness but this tired Kindness Activist needs to find time to sit down and tell you the stories of where it went here. 

For now, just know this – it is worth stopping and talking.  It doesn’t matter if it is DARK.  It doesn’t matter if it is COLD.  What matters is that we connect as humans.  We give what we can, and we make the world a better place.  One green grape at a time. 

Best $20.37 I have spent in a long time.