When my mother was a little girl, during the Depression, she was walking with her father in Manhattan and a man came up and asked my grandfather for a dime--probably a lot of money then--and, to be honest, he was probably looking to buy a bottle. My grandfather stopped and talked to the man for a few minutes and gave the man some change. My mother asked why in the world he would give a stranger on the street some money, and my grandfather pulled her aside and told her that she had a warm bed to go home to, a hot meal waiting and nice clothes to wear. He told her that a dime might not mean that much to her and that giving it away would never change her life, but it might mean this man had food to eat that night or it might help him buy a room. Like almost everyone, Ive walked blindly past panhandlers in the past, but most of the time my grandfather, who I never even knew, pops into my head and I stop, talk to the person and try to help them. Two generations later and the voice of a man I never met urges me to do the right thing. Giving that man some change was a good thing for my grandfather to have done: explaining to my mother why he did it was far more important. Ive seen hard times in my life, cold and hungry nights, and I know that what separates any one of us from the man in this video is a much thinner line than you might think. Teach your children--your grandchildren might thank you.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 06:48:00 +0000
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