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February 09, 2005
Quotidian wisdom II
I was finishing a cup of coffee outside an office building downtown before an appointment.
A street guy in his forties approached in a filthy gray trench, some tattered Chuck Taylors and a T-shirt that comemmemorated someone else's recent completion of a half-marathon. He juggled a quarter between grimy hands.
"Can I buy a cigarette?"
"Sorry," I answered.
"Listen, do you have any change? Anything at all would help."
I flashed on the change from my french roast that I'd dropped into the tip jar.
"I might have a buck. Lemme see." I dug in my pocket for the new Coach wallet L gifted me with last week, awkwardly balancing my coffee.
"Bless you. Thank you." He smiled and walked down the block about 20 feet before stopping.
"Thanks, man! Hey, what did Springsteen say? It's so hard to be a saint ..."
"In the city," I finished.
"Yeah!" He grinned again. "Just what does God want from us, anyway, man?"
"Be good," I said before gulping the last of my coffee. I tossed the cup in a trash can.
The street guy walked on, then stopped again. "Hey, man -- you inspire me!"
I returned his thumbs-up and went to my appointment.
Posted by Your Protagonist at February 9, 2005 03:11 PM