Whoa. So, Im sitting on my front porch having a ciggie. For context, its 11:20 p.m. here. A little late for people to be wandering the streets on a Tuesday night. I see a man weaving and bobbing on the corner of Courtland and Ottawa. Bobbing. Weaving. Weaving. Bobbing. I notice that he is getting bolder and bolder with the traffic. Stepping out off the curb. Standing closer and closer to the center of the crossroads. I become alarmed because dude is obviously drunk, and the traffic on Ottawa and Courtland is on the heavy side. Im thinking Call 911 but something stops me and I venture off the porch with my phone in hand, pajama clad and barefoot. HEY! YOU OKAY? I bellow. He looks alarmed to see me walking at breakneck speed, braless, barefoot, in pajamas, towards him, but he takes a few steps backwards, finds the curb (and relative safety), puts his head in his hands and says, simply - No. Im kinda lost. I ask a few questions and establish that he needs a cab. I call one for him and convince him to sit down before he falls down. Hes nodding off, so I ask him questions and his answers come like a piece of music. Piano forte staccato. Guatemala. Arrived here as a refugee. He was 8 when they left. He lives here alone, now. The rest of his family moved on. Without him. They live in Texas. He doesnt miss them. *** I sit with him until the cab arrives and when it does, it parks across the street and flashes its high beams at us. I take him by his arm and half drag him across the intersection, countering his unsteady weaving with my own solid gait. I deposit him in the back seat and shut the car door, peer into the front seat and tell the driver to take him home. He is young. He could be my son. ****He will not let the driver leave until I am safely back on my front porch. I wave them on as I mount the steps to my front door, and they take off towards wherever home might be.**** I call dispatch, explain myself and give them my number in case hes short on fare. *** Its been that kind of night. (Edited to add **** to emphasize the bit that really got me. Because, this isnt about what I did. This is about what *he* did despite the condition he was in. Im slain by humanity. Totally slain. Wow.)
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 03:56:06 +0000
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