Darrell KSR
11-25-2012, 06:20 PM
(Sorry to steal bigsky's subject - it just fit so well with this I had to use it. My apologies.)
I'm not entirely sure the purpose of this post. It for sure isn't "holier than thou," as I realized today how little I have given of myself to others less fortunate. So maybe it's just a confession of my own soul. Maybe it's a "thank you" to those of you who have done this regularly.
It's also not meant to be political in the slightest. I don't want to talk about the hows, and whys, and wheres. Just the "what is."
My wife, my 11-year old son, my 13-year old daughter, and my 20-year old son all volunteered today at a "soup kitchen." It was a regular Sunday lunch meal, but Thanksgiving-themed, with turkey, dressing, green beans, rolls and dessert. I know some here have spoken about this before, and some do it regularly, but I have never, in my 52 years of age, ever done this before today. It for sure won't be my last time.
What an eye-opening experience. I expected to see homeless people, and did, of course. What I did not expect to see was the appreciation, the courtesy, the thankfulness. I heard more "yes, sir," and "thank you" comments than I hear in a month with people I run into on my every day experiences.
One man was apologizing for wearing so many coats (I was helping him take them off and put them on his chair to be seated.) He chuckled at me, and told me "I'll need them tonight."
Man.
He wasn't complaining, just stating a fact. That's his "clothing," "shelter," and "home." And it's cold tonight.
I saw people there who have been dealt a hand less than ours. People who have afflictions of sorts. People who have real disabilities. People who were mentally challenged.
And they all were so polite and so appreciative. One of the guys that serves regularly told me that he has gotten to know a bunch of them. He sat down and visited with them from table to table. I began doing it myself, and thought at first they wouldn't want me interrupting their meals. Boy, was I wrong. They appreciated the company. They appreciated being treated the same as anyone else. The color of your skin didn't matter, your education or who you knew didn't matter. What mattered is that they were talking with somebody who accepted them for who they were, and wasn't judging them. Almost all of the men shook my hand as I greeted them to seat them, and told me their name as I gave mine.
I apologize for my naive view of what I experienced. I just didn't know.
We had apple pie and pumpkin pie to serve. I asked one visitor if he wanted some apple pie or pumpkin pie. He told me, "no thank you, sir, I've already had a piece of pie. One is enough for any man."
A simple piece of pie was enough for any man. I know he wasn't meaning it as a metaphor, but it struck me when he said it.
My 20-year old son, in a glaring display of contrasts, drove from a local country club where he buses tables as a part-time job to get there after we did. Some of the people at his country club have money to buy small countries. Many of these people didn't know where their next meal would come from.
My 11 (soon to be 12!) year old son, on the drive back home, said, "Dad, thanks for taking us."
That's all he said. He's a good and loving kid, and is very good about saying that if I take him to a ballgame, or if we go to a movie, or have some family outing where he had the time of his life. There, he had nobody his age, no friends, nothing to play with, and he was just a "gopher."
Thanks for taking us.
I feel the same way, son.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I'm not entirely sure the purpose of this post. It for sure isn't "holier than thou," as I realized today how little I have given of myself to others less fortunate. So maybe it's just a confession of my own soul. Maybe it's a "thank you" to those of you who have done this regularly.
It's also not meant to be political in the slightest. I don't want to talk about the hows, and whys, and wheres. Just the "what is."
My wife, my 11-year old son, my 13-year old daughter, and my 20-year old son all volunteered today at a "soup kitchen." It was a regular Sunday lunch meal, but Thanksgiving-themed, with turkey, dressing, green beans, rolls and dessert. I know some here have spoken about this before, and some do it regularly, but I have never, in my 52 years of age, ever done this before today. It for sure won't be my last time.
What an eye-opening experience. I expected to see homeless people, and did, of course. What I did not expect to see was the appreciation, the courtesy, the thankfulness. I heard more "yes, sir," and "thank you" comments than I hear in a month with people I run into on my every day experiences.
One man was apologizing for wearing so many coats (I was helping him take them off and put them on his chair to be seated.) He chuckled at me, and told me "I'll need them tonight."
Man.
He wasn't complaining, just stating a fact. That's his "clothing," "shelter," and "home." And it's cold tonight.
I saw people there who have been dealt a hand less than ours. People who have afflictions of sorts. People who have real disabilities. People who were mentally challenged.
And they all were so polite and so appreciative. One of the guys that serves regularly told me that he has gotten to know a bunch of them. He sat down and visited with them from table to table. I began doing it myself, and thought at first they wouldn't want me interrupting their meals. Boy, was I wrong. They appreciated the company. They appreciated being treated the same as anyone else. The color of your skin didn't matter, your education or who you knew didn't matter. What mattered is that they were talking with somebody who accepted them for who they were, and wasn't judging them. Almost all of the men shook my hand as I greeted them to seat them, and told me their name as I gave mine.
I apologize for my naive view of what I experienced. I just didn't know.
We had apple pie and pumpkin pie to serve. I asked one visitor if he wanted some apple pie or pumpkin pie. He told me, "no thank you, sir, I've already had a piece of pie. One is enough for any man."
A simple piece of pie was enough for any man. I know he wasn't meaning it as a metaphor, but it struck me when he said it.
My 20-year old son, in a glaring display of contrasts, drove from a local country club where he buses tables as a part-time job to get there after we did. Some of the people at his country club have money to buy small countries. Many of these people didn't know where their next meal would come from.
My 11 (soon to be 12!) year old son, on the drive back home, said, "Dad, thanks for taking us."
That's all he said. He's a good and loving kid, and is very good about saying that if I take him to a ballgame, or if we go to a movie, or have some family outing where he had the time of his life. There, he had nobody his age, no friends, nothing to play with, and he was just a "gopher."
Thanks for taking us.
I feel the same way, son.
Happy Thanksgiving.