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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Something More

Wednesdays there's free produce on 13th St. People come in to our building to use the bathroom. A couple weeks ago a lady came in. She was gone a long time, and when I went to check she was taking a bath at the sink. I imagine she doesn't have a better place to do that. You know that dream you have about needing to use the bathroom and all the doors are missing?
This morning a gentleman came in; gone a long time. I heard yelling. When I went to investigate, it was a baby crying. Mom and baby were waiting outside. Pretty soon she comes in to use the bathroom, and he watches the baby.
I feel a profound sadness. I wish there was something more we could do for people in need, besides letting them use the bathroom. (That is more than a lot of places would offer.) I ended up holding the door when they left.
Some people think they brought it upon themselves. I think differently. There are a few who live irresponsibly, but the majority of people who need to wait in line to pick up their vegetables on the street don't have a lot of other options. It wouldn't be their choice to live that way. The combinations of forces that got them to that place are not overcome in a day or two, with a little soap and water and paper towels. The mom from this morning's encounter is blind.
Sometimes I give away my all-day pass for the bus, if somebody needs it.
My dad as a young man (I was a baby) came home from work one day and told my mother he thought they needed to do something more. They spent the next thirty years in overseas mission building schools in a developing nation.
I heard my daughter say she wants to do something more. She was talking about her job.
What did you end up doing last time you felt like you should be doing something more?

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