for the past 3 years…

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… I have come across him on my morning walks… usually when I pop into the liquor store to get myself a crumb cake or any manner of pastry that’s on the shelves. Not every day though… but on most days. My late friend, (and former tenant) Randy would also run into him and we would talk about our encounters.

What struck us was that he would never ask for money… but a cup of coffee. So, this has become a part of a routine. (It was Randy’s too.) I would nearly always go in and include a cup of coffee for him as part of my purchase… and he is always thankful. He would sit in the corner and sip on it with relish.

I don’t know his name. Any conversations we engage in is usually short… with me mostly trying to decipher what he was trying to say in the low garbled rumble of a voice he speaks in. He always smiles and shakes my hand. Obviously, he is not a street person. I can only tell because he has a new change of clothes every day. And even if he were… I would not do any different as I’m doing now… getting him a cup of coffee whenever I see him.

I wondered how he got to this place… and his presence always serves to remind me that where we are in life is always a delicate balancing act. He obviously has issues but it is not for me to judge. After all, things can go spectacularly well or wrong in our own lives. I have written in the past about similar individuals.

No, this will not be a long post. I just wanted to highlight him today because his presence reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for in my own life. My only hope is that the coffees I get him provide some measure of thanks for that reminder.

May you all have a good and warm Thanksgiving.