A silent man
I saw a homeless man last night at St. Mark's Cathedral. I saw him because after the choir sang and as people were leaving, he came over to where some people were still sitting and silently offered an old grey baseball cap toward them. He offered his baseball cap to me without uttering a single word. I looked into his eyes and smiled, but I did not offer him any money. I did not offer him anything. My smile did not count. My thoughts that I wanted him to have food and clothes did not count. My thought that I wanted him to know Jesus did not count.
He said not a single word as he retracted his old hat and proceeded to walk through the rest of the Cathedral, silently pleading for money. I saw one lady put something in it--probably a dollar or two. Now, I don't know if this man would have used the money to buy food or to buy booze or drugs. Well over half of the people on the streets have some type of mental problem. He could have been anybody, any of these things. I didn't know what to offer, if I was supposed to offer anything.
What struck me the most was his silence. I wondered if he was mute, or if he simply did not enjoy talking. I don't know. But I thought, I wonder if he is silent because he is ashamed of the fact that he is begging. There I had sat during the whole service, wide-eyed, thinking of many things but definitely not thinking about the homeless. And then a silent man walked in and offered his hat. And I offered nothing.
posted by Ash at 1:41 PM
2 Comments:
From my assessment, he was seeking money and may not have been interested in much else. He was muttering to himself (his lips were moving and I heard some mumbling). The way he was dressed and groomed indicates he might have been homeless but had known a prior life that was business oriented... he still wore a tie and if clean, he would look quite presentable. He made most eye contact with you, Ash, maybe because he has experienced that woman care more. He was quick to move on to another person when he realized there was nothing he could get out of us, which indicates he wasn't interested in talking or recieving anything other than money. Or that he never has anyone talk to him so expects no one to initiate conversation. He had a hunched back and shuffling feet... portraying a man that has crumbled. I wasn't able to see a wedding ring, but there might have been one. There was a sense of indifference to him, maybe because he has been so desensitized by the cruel world he experienced.
The rest of what I have to say is useless, and maybe everything I wrote was.
Take a look at my entry labled "A sobering wake up call". Thanks for the insight.
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