Cleveland

I am sitting in total silence with the exception of the click of the keypad. I am ungrateful and in many ways, very selfish. I am humbled by tonight, the eve of the day we give thanks for our blessings. You see, I just I learned a lesson - was taught a lesson. I must truly be thankful for the life God gave me and for the blessings he bestows on me endlessly, although I am not deserving.

In my final preparations for having guests tomorrow, I realized that I was missing a few ingredients needed to make a few of the dishes I was preparing in advance so I headed to the grocery store. I left my affluent neighborhood with my dog on my lap and money in my wallet. I passed mansion upon mansion on my short drive towards Peachtree Street, looking in the windows, noticing the beautiful paintings and lit driveways, gas lanterns flickering on posts by the roadside.

As I turned into the plaza where the store is, my headlights focused on a man. He looked to be my age. He had taken the lid off the trash bin next to the post office and was rummaging amongst the contents. He picked up a drink cup and swirled it to see if there was anything in there to drink. He had found something to give him a bit of relief from his thirst. The post office has been closed for hours, so I knew the contents of that cup were more than likely from lunch. Warm and tasting of Styrofoam.

As I pulled into my parking space and made my way into the market I noticed that he had moved closer to the store - to the next garbage can and was removing the lid. I went over to him. "Excuse me sir, are you hungry?" I noticed that he had found a discarded cigarette butt and was holding it between his fingers. More leftovers from another. He said yes, he was hungry. I asked him to wait for me, I told him I would return in a moment from the store and bring him something to eat. He could not look me in the eye and I could tell in that moment that he had a sweet spirit in him and that he had not looked many people in the eye for a long time.

As I went into the store, I could not remember the few items that I went there for. I walked up and down the aisles but my mind could not focus. Everything inside me was hurting - for him and the countless others that will not have this year. Not just tomorrow, but many days after. No place to sleep, no food to eat and more than likely a substance abuse problem caused by a break in their soul at some point in their lives.

There were so many people in the store, buying so much, so much. Carts overflowing. I still could not remember what I needed - but I knew what he needed, so I proceeded to the deli to buy him a rotisserie chicken and some warm macaroni and cheese. A large bottle of water, a Sprite, utensils, salt and pepper and a pack of cigarettes. No leftovers tonight. Not for him.

He was waiting still, outside the store and I sat next to him, handing him the bag. I offered my hand to him and introduced myself. He returned in kind, still not able to meet my eyes. "Hi, my name is Cleveland."

We talked for a few minutes and he began to feel comfortable and peeked inside his bag. He said nothing to me, just reached over and squeezed my hand as I got up and made my way back to the car with a weight on me of conviction. "Be thankful Mellissa, be truly thankful" was all I heard inside my heart. So tonight as I sit here, humbled and reminded what tomorrow is really about. Lesson applied.

Thank you Cleveland - God bless you and keep you.