Found a homeless dude in my hallway a while ago...

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BabaBooey

BabaBooey

Lifer
Jan 21, 2001
10,476
0
0
So I went to lock up the front door a while ago and go out in the hallway and found a guy sitting on the steps half asleep....:Q


Older guy 50's with a flannel shirt and windbreaker and a duffle bag of belongings I assumed ?

So he kinda came to and started applogising right away saying he means no harm and was just getting warm on his way downtown to the dorthy day center.

I told him no worries and got him some hot coffee and had some danishes so he gobbled that up and I offered to give him a lift downtown and he refused ofcourse but after a few persistant rounds he agreed and offered to shovel snow ...:p


So after that I got my street clothes on and got himn packed up and gave him a parka I never wear any more ( it was 3 sizes too big but he was loving it ) so took him downtown and slipped him $20 I had on me as he did not seem like a drunk or addict and come to find out he was a vet and lost his family in 94 in a house fire.


Man this is no time to be living outside not that anytime is good but it happens,I know I left home when I was 14 as me and my dad were not buddies and once I got big enough to fight back we went at it and I left the next day and never looked back so I know how it feels to be homeless and believe in karma .


Just thought I would share and remind everyone not to look down upon homeless as not everyone chooses it...
 
fuzzybabybunny

fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
Moderator
Jan 2, 2006
10,455
35
91
:thumbsup:

I was on a road trip this winter break and I stopped in Vail, Colorado sometime during the night for dinner. Snow everywhere. Vail is a very upscale looking valley town, full of wealthy-looking tourists there for skiing.

Saw an illegal immigrant who had somehow gotten dropped off in Vail after hitching with someone from around Arizona... apparently he had gone to the Vail police for help but they actually shunned him away saying that he was an illegal and told him to get lost. The man's English was very poor and I had no idea what he was saying. A couple of other people gave him some advice, like look for a church or something. I couldn't take him anywhere because frankly, I have no physical room in my car on a road trip, it is stocked with extremely expensive camera gear, I'm on a tight deadline, and I don't think I could defend myself if something were to go wrong between him and me. And my car needed a jump at the time.

But what a way to spend Christmas time. The dude probably had no idea where he was. All he probably knew was that this place was very cold and very, very far from any place he wanted to be at. In the middle of Vail, probably one of the most pristine villages in Colorado, and there's this grungy looking illegal immigrant hoping to get some handouts or a ride somewhere back south. The last I saw of him he was talking to people standing in a line at the local Subway.

If he tried to sleep outside that night, he would have died from exposure... period.
 
S

sutahz

Golden Member
Dec 14, 2007
1,300
0
0
Homeless people have places to go to get help, and set their lives straight. If they dont take advantages of such programs.... oh well.
"illegal immigrant" police should have booked him and called "La Migra!"
"I don't think I could defend myself if something were to go wrong between him and me" you have your prejudices...

thepd7 "Doubtful." where do you get your information from?
http://www.google.com/search?h...es+government+homeless
Oh, Farang seems to disagree w/ you too... if you care.

A sales job I worked for a tad, there was a guy that was homeless by choice. Yup, he hated the rat race that much. His family helped him some by giving him food, but food is cheap, when you get down to it in the nitty gritty. He was clean, nice and didn't beg of us.
 
F

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
0
Originally posted by: sutahz
Homeless people have places to go to get help, and set their lives straight. If they dont take advantages of such programs.... oh well.
Click to expand...

I agree. I don't really understand homlessness. If I lost my job, my car flipped in a ditch, my family disowned me, and everything I owned burned in a fire, I don't see myself on the street. I suppose it could happen if I went bankrupt because of medical bills or something and lost my job, but even then I'd land a laborer job within a day or two (if not something better) and get myself a place to stay. The government is quite generous with food stamps and other handouts also. I don't see how I could ever be homeless for more than a week's time, even a week I don't really see happening but in a worst-worst-worst case scenario possibly.

This is not taking into account addicts and those with mental problems, which is the only reason I see for homelessness. Today I don't see how a normal guy can end up on the street. Good film on this by the way, forget the name but they give $100,000 to a homeless guy and he is homeless again within a short period of time.
 
T

thepd7

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2005
9,423
0
0
Originally posted by: sutahz
Homeless people have places to go to get help, and set their lives straight. If they dont take advantages of such programs.... oh well.
Click to expand...

Doubtful. Try being homeless for a few months then see how easy it is to resurrect a "normal" life. Good luck with that.



Originally posted by: bababooey
So I went to lock up the front door a while ago and go out in the hallway and found a guy sitting on the steps half asleep....:Q


Older guy 50's with a flannel shirt and windbreaker and a duffle bag of belongings I assumed ?

So he kinda came to and started applogising right away saying he means no harm and was just getting warm on his way downtown to the dorthy day center.

I told him no worries and got him some hot coffee and had some danishes so he gobbled that up and I offered to give him a lift downtown and he refused ofcourse but after a few persistant rounds he agreed and offered to shovel snow ...:p


So after that I got my street clothes on and got himn packed up and gave him a parka I never wear any more ( it was 3 sizes too big but he was loving it ) so took him downtown and slipped him $20 I had on me as he did not seem like a drunk or addict and come to find out he was a vet and lost his family in 94 in a house fire.


Man this is no time to be living outside not that anytime is good but it happens,I know I left home when I was 14 as me and my dad were not buddies and once I got big enough to fight back we went at it and I left the next day and never looked back so I know how it feels to be homeless and believe in karma .


Just thought I would share and remind everyone not to look down upon homeless as not everyone chooses it...
Click to expand...

Thanks for helping out a fellow person, it's really sad how people seem to be so uncompassionate to other people.
 
sygyzy

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
:thumbsup:

I was on a road trip this winter break and I stopped in Vail, Colorado sometime during the night for dinner. Snow everywhere. Vail is a very upscale looking valley town, full of wealthy-looking tourists there for skiing.

Saw an illegal immigrant who had somehow gotten dropped off in Vail after hitching with someone from around Arizona... apparently he had gone to the Vail police for help but they actually shunned him away saying that he was an illegal and told him to get lost. The man's English was very poor and I had no idea what he was saying. A couple of other people gave him some advice, like look for a church or something. I couldn't take him anywhere because frankly, I have no physical room in my car on a road trip, it is stocked with extremely expensive camera gear, I'm on a tight deadline, and I don't think I could defend myself if something were to go wrong between him and me. And my car needed a jump at the time.

But what a way to spend Christmas time. The dude probably had no idea where he was. All he probably knew was that this place was very cold and very, very far from any place he wanted to be at. In the middle of Vail, probably one of the most pristine villages in Colorado, and there's this grungy looking illegal immigrant hoping to get some handouts or a ride somewhere back south. The last I saw of him he was talking to people standing in a line at the local Subway.

If he tried to sleep outside that night, he would have died from exposure... period.
Click to expand...

I can't believe you wrote this entire story setting up how this guy was likely going to die and you ended it with you leaving it him. I might have done the same thing, but I wouldn't have posted about it on a message board.
 
frostedflakes

frostedflakes

Diamond Member
Mar 1, 2005
7,925
1
81
bababooey you are a saint, the world would be a much better place if people were more compassionate and understanding (am pointing the finger at myself as well, I honestly don't know if I would have gone so far out of my way to help a homeless person). Sounds like he is a decent guy, just a victim of circumstance.
 
N

NoShangriLa

Golden Member
Sep 3, 2006
1,652
0
0
Good job!

The world needs more good samaritans.

I was driving back from south CA to BC Canada on Jan 2000, and picked up a 53 year old homeless that has been wandered all over the US for 9 years. He became a drunk and he left his son with a neighbor at the age of 14, because his wife and daughter died in a car accident while he was at work as a mechanical engineer (he still had his ring, lost touch with the son for 7 years, and looked more like a weathered 80 year old).

He was glad to hitch a ride from me at around 7 am because he has been walking & sleeping on the I5 for 3 days with out anyone stopping by to give him a lift. I stop for fuel and some food just before noon and he was going to wait for me outside, however I invited him in for a meal and I never have seen a person the gulped down a large burger, fries, salad, and an orange juice so quickly (I have to tell the waitress in north CA that the man was with me because she tried to tell him to leave the establishment). I was going to stop for some food and the night at 5 or 6 pm, however he mentioned earlier during the trip that he have a son in Portland OR and wanted to patch things up with him, therefore I press on till 11:40 pm (I still remember because the gas station was about to close) after we had a meal however he ate a little slower this time even those it was 1/2 of a perfectly grilled chicken & pasta.

He declined my offer for a lift to his son house because he didn?t want to intrude on his son & would like to contact him before showed up on his door. I tried to give him some pocket money & cab fare but he refuse to take it, however he took about $2.50 of quarters so that he could call 411 and/or anyone that he could remember so that he could get his son phone number & address. I waited for him to make the calls and at times he seems to have difficulty expressing him self (I was watching from afar to give him some privacy), and at around 1 am with tears of mixed feeling he told me that everything is okay and his son is coming to pick him up. He thanks me profusely and told me to go and get some rest (I was up before 5 am), and I drove off and waited from a distant to make sure that he was okay before being pick up by a ecstatic young man and a young woman in a dark blue pickup truck.

Funny thing was that he thought I was a good Christian, and was surprise but totally respected me when I told him I?m agnostic. He also said that he is sure that many people that claims that they are Christian however they don?t live a Christian life because many time he hitchhiked/walks for days and thousands for vehicles passed by and no one stop to help (and in his words, California is the worst of all the states that he have been too).

 
C

compuwiz1

Admin Emeritus Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
27,112
930
126
Originally posted by: bababooey
So I went to lock up the front door a while ago and go out in the hallway and found a guy sitting on the steps half asleep....:Q


Older guy 50's with a flannel shirt and windbreaker and a duffle bag of belongings I assumed ?

So he kinda came to and started applogising right away saying he means no harm and was just getting warm on his way downtown to the dorthy day center.

I told him no worries and got him some hot coffee and had some danishes so he gobbled that up and I offered to give him a lift downtown and he refused ofcourse but after a few persistant rounds he agreed and offered to shovel snow ...:p


So after that I got my street clothes on and got himn packed up and gave him a parka I never wear any more ( it was 3 sizes too big but he was loving it ) so took him downtown and slipped him $20 I had on me as he did not seem like a drunk or addict and come to find out he was a vet and lost his family in 94 in a house fire.


Man this is no time to be living outside not that anytime is good but it happens,I know I left home when I was 14 as me and my dad were not buddies and once I got big enough to fight back we went at it and I left the next day and never looked back so I know how it feels to be homeless and believe in karma .


Just thought I would share and remind everyone not to look down upon homeless as not everyone chooses it...
Click to expand...

You dun good, kid. Hugs to you. I would have done the same. I know he felt the love for a minute, even though his life sucks. :)

And homelessness can occur, even to people who have it all. When you're job and your all disppears...all 5000 sqft of it, you become homeless.

 
JohnCU

JohnCU

Banned
Dec 9, 2000
16,528
4
0
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
Good job!

The world needs more good samaritans.

I was driving back from south CA to BC Canada on Jan 2000, and picked up a 53 year old homeless that has been wandered all over the US for 9 years. He became a drunk and he left his son with a neighbor at the age of 14, because his wife and daughter died in a car accident while he was at work as a mechanical engineer (he still had his ring, lost touch with the son for 7 years, and looked more like a weathered 80 year old).

He was glad to hitch a ride from me at around 7 am because he has been walking & sleeping on the I5 for 3 days with out anyone stopping by to give him a lift. I stop for fuel and some food just before noon and he was going to wait for me outside, however I invited him in for a meal and I never have seen a person the gulped down a large burger, fries, salad, and an orange juice so quickly (I have to tell the waitress in north CA that the man was with me because she tried to tell him to leave the establishment). I was going to stop for some food and the night at 5 or 6 pm, however he mentioned earlier during the trip that he have a son in Portland OR and wanted to patch things up with him, therefore I press on till 11:40 pm (I still remember because the gas station was about to close) after we had a meal however he ate a little slower this time even those it was 1/2 of a perfectly grilled chicken & pasta.

He declined my offer for a lift to his son house because he didn?t want to intrude on his son & would like to contact him before showed up on his door. I tried to give him some pocket money & cab fare but he refuse to take it, however he took about $2.50 of quarters so that he could call 411 and/or anyone that he could remember so that he could get his son phone number & address. I waited for him to make the calls and at times he seems to have difficulty expressing him self (I was watching from afar to give him some privacy), and at around 1 am with tears of mixed feeling he told me that everything is okay and his son is coming to pick him up. He thanks me profusely and told me to go and get some rest (I was up before 5 am), and I drove off and waited from a distant to make sure that he was okay before being pick up by a ecstatic young man and a young woman in a dark blue pickup truck.

Funny thing was that he thought I was a good Christian, and was surprise but totally respected me when I told him I?m agnostic. He also said that he is sure that many people that claims that they are Christian however they don?t live a Christian life because many time he hitchhiked/walks for days and thousands for vehicles passed by and no one stop to help (and in his words, California is the worst of all the states that he have been too).
Click to expand...

that is an awesome story. :thumbsup: to OP and this guy.
 
Babbles

Babbles

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2001
8,253
14
81
Originally posted by: amjohns5
:thumbsup: We need more people like you in the world.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you did good. Unfortunately I am pretty sure I wouldn't have done nearly as much as you did.
 
TehMac

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
9,976
3
71
Originally posted by: bababooey
[good deed]
Click to expand...

Yeah, we were in Church on Christmas two years ago, and we saw a homeless guy in the church, and being Christmas, we figured he had something going for him, so my dad invited him for Christmas dinner, and then to drive him down to Brother Beno's, a soup kitchen, and a homeless shelter which teaches the willing to become well...homeful.

So we had dinner with him, he told a story, you know, he was in the Navy, wife divorced him, lived on the streets, not sure what else there was. We ate dinner, then he got driven down to Brother Beno's, and two weeks later, he came back to us privately and told us and the Pastor he had gotten a job.

So, there is some good in doing good things for broken people.

Not many in the Church know about it, but I guess ATOT does. :D
 
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