Eddie

I met a guy named Eddie yesterday. I've spoken to him before, even though I didn't know his name, as he stood near a bus stop that I walk past twice a day. Some days I see him in the morning as I'm going to work, and some days I see him in the evening on my way home. He always greets me with cheerful eyes and a big smile and he always says, "Hello my friend". Although I've never stopped to talk, I usually asked how he was doing, at which he would reply, "Oh, I'm hanging in there", and I would respond, "Me too".

This morning was different. As I left the parking lot where I park my car I could see that someone near the bus stop was in trouble. The person was on his hands and knees, facing away from the street, as if he had tripped after getting off the bus. His black duffle bag was on the sidewalk next to him, and as I approached him I could see that it was the person I've spoken to before. He was trying to stand up, and as I offered to help him a very nice park ranger lady showed up to help both of us. We got him to his feet, but he was unable to walk, so we let him hold on to us and we waited. Although we didn't try to engage him in conversation, he repeated, "I haven't done anything" over and over, and I'll admit that it wasn't convincing because it was obvious that he had been drinking. He kept saying that he couldn't understand why his legs felt paralyzed, but my guess is that he just didn't have any feeling in them.

Eddie eventually recognized me and said, "Hello my friend", and I responded with a smile and a simple, "Hi". He was still on his feet and he still couldn't walk, and so we let him hold on to us. As we waited I found myself hoping that he wouldn't remember our visit that morning, because his greeting wasn't accompanied with his usual cheerful eyes or his big smile, but instead tears covered his face. I tried to help him understand that everyone needs help at some time, that this was his time, and that it was OK. Eddie said he was tired and I don't think he's slept recently, so we tried to convince him that he should go to a shelter. He didn't want to go to the shelter because they "always make me leave". Eventually he was able to move off by himself, towards his black duffle bag.

I left him with the park ranger lady and walked toward my office, thinking I would have felt better if he had gone to the shelter. Something else he said to me, slowly and carefully, and more than once as he looked into my eyes was, "You have no obligation". I tried to tell him that I think he's wrong, because we do have an obligation to help others. God's command regarding the poor can be found in Deuteronomy 15:7, "If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need." I hope I see Eddie standing at the bus stop again, and when I do I'm going to stop and talk to him for a couple of minutes.