Real story, Random picture

I actually have stuff to talk about for once, so i won't waste an entire post today with my unflattering pictures, but I'll attach one to my post and I'll probably do the same again tomorrow.

 

TheCount and I have had an issue for the past week, but I didn't blog about it (I did tweet it) because I knew what you guys would say. You guys all have good common sense and I didn't want to be fussed at, so I figured I'd blog about it when the situation resolved itself, which it has. Last week when TheCount and I came home from dinner we saw a duffel bag in the stairwell. We live on the bottom floor of the apartment building and it's just our door and the woman across the hall. She's been known to place things she can't carry over in the corner, but  I really didn't think the huge army fatigue duffel bag was hers. We went inside and weren't really concerned about it. The next morning when I went out, the bag was zipped up and a book bag was placed neatly on top. When I walked out the building a young black man was sitting on the steps. There aren't very many black people in our complex so I knew I had never seen him before. We both said good morning and I went on my way. TheCount said he didn't see anybody when he left out. Each time we came and went the bags were in a different state: open, closed, messy, neat. I looked out the peephole, but I never actually saw anybody around them. I figured somebody was living in our stairwell, but I didn't know what to do. Call the police? I didn't want them to get in trouble, times are hard. Alert management? I didn't want them to get thrown out, it's cold outside. I know y'all are thinking I was dumb to not say anything, but I just couldn't. One afternoon I walked in and saw the man from the other morning changing his clothes right there. I didn't want to make the situation awkward so I just spoke and went in the apartment. I told TheCount who wanted to call the leasing office, but I know him, he would never get around to doing it, so I wasn't too concerned about it. The next night, TheCount finally saw dude. He decided to go out and talk to him. It turns out he's 17, from New Jersey but he grew up in our town. His mom threw him out when he was 14, because she got a boyfriend that didn't want him to be around. He wants to get his GED, so he can go to audio school so he can be a rapper. TheCount kept asking if he needed anything, but as a young black man abandoned by his mother, he seriously had trust issues. He kept saying, "like what you mean, do I need anything?" TheCount just wanted to know if he needed blankets, or some food, or some help getting somewhere, but dude insisted he was fine. TheCount ended up giving him $20 so he could know we were serious about trying to help him. Dude was like, "what's this for?" TheCount assured him we didn't want anything from him, we just wanted to help him out a bit.TheCount sat out and talked to him for about 20 minutes before coming in.The next day I researched and found some programs in our town that helps underprivileged folks under 21 get their GED (for free) and a shelter that hooks you up with a caseworker and a plan, I fixed some soup and was going to give him some the next time I saw him, so he wouldn't just be living off of junk, but today, he, and all his stuff, were gone.

 

This is the thing, I feel guilty. I always ask God for opportunities to help people. I say I want to make a difference and I did try, but... what if I didn't pass the test? I am blessed to be a blessing, I say that all the time, and I truly am blessed, and I hope that the young man knows that TheCount and I really want to help him. We don't want him to have to be a dope boy (cuz how else would he be making money?) all his life, we want to help him accomplish his goals. I'm pretty sure I'm over thinking the situation and y'all are probably like, TM you are dramatic as heck and next time a stranger is living outside your apartment door, call the police. He was a random stranger, but a random stranger that has the potential to be everything he wants to be in life. I just needed to share how I was feeling today. This situation did lead me to want to be more involved with the local homeless shelter. On their website they had a list of things they needed. I went to the store yesterday and got some of the stuff so I could feel like I was doing something to help out. I'm going to talk to them about coming in and volunteering in the evenings.
 

There is a quote that I heard recently about helping people but I cannot find it. I did find some other good ones, but I must find that dang quote, I love me some quotes!

Hebrews 13:2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. This is one of my favorite verses, however, I don't think angels are allowed to curse like sailors, so our stairwell guest probably wasn't an angel.

Barbara DeAngelis: Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference

 

Dalai Lama: Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

 

William Penn: If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

 

John Wesley: Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.

 

John Wooden: You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.