There's a homeless man in my neighborhood. The only thing I know about him aside from his behavior on the
street is that his first name is Larry.
A couple of years ago, I walked him over to the Manor Cafe and
paid for a meal for him, but I didn't really feel good about the way I did it.
I was in a hurry, and I just basically gave the owner of the Cafe money
for his meal.
A couple of months ago, when Larry asked for a handout, I told him I
didn't give money to people on the streets, that I give it instead to
organizations to help people on the streets.
He said, "That's phony. That's an excuse."
So when I heard about HandUp, an organization designed to help
specific individuals on the street, I bought a couple of their gift cards--$25
each.
Here's how it's laid out.
I carried around two cards for a while and never saw Larry, so I gave
one to a woman who was begging on the street.
Then one day recently, I saw Larry lying on the street and took a
picture.
For some reason, as soon as I got it onto my computer, it became my
Desktop photo!
This reminded me of a fairy tale in which a woman promises to come back to the man holding her
captive because her captivity is part of the bargain--compensation for what her
father has taken from this man. But she forgets, and then she
has a magic mirror showing him dying of heartbreak because she hasn't kept her promise.
A few days ago I saw Larry on West Portal, and I said, "Hi,
Larry. How are you doing?" He said he'd been sick, and I told
him I was sorry and brought out the $25 gift card. He refused it!
He wanted a hand out, not a HandUp!
I then gave it to another panhandler.
The next time I saw Larry, he accused me once again of not wanting to help.
I said,
"You refused the twenty-five dollar gift card," but I didn't tell him
about his being on my Desktop every time I turn on the computer!
I'm happy to say that with Jonathan's help at 3000 miles away, I was finally able to get Larry off of my Desktop!
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