What is Demanded, What is Given, by Tim Bulone

When I first saw the man in the motorized chair he was moving pretty quickly along the sidewalk. I was sitting with my wife, her sisters and a sister-in-law on the outdoor patio of a coffee house. Next thing I knew, he was at the table next to ours. He was conversing with the two women there but appeared disappointed so he turned towards our table.

"I'm homeless and hungry!" he told us matter of factly. He looked thin even though he had many layers of clothes on. I dug down and fished out a dollar, as did my sister-in-law and handed it over to him. But that would not be enough. "I need to eat, I need a big meal, man!" He looked around at all of us and it was clear our two dollars wouldn't do it.

My wife asked him what he liked to eat. "Mexican food," he said, "from that place down the street. C'mon! I have cancer! I have cancer, man!" With that he put his head down and began to cry. I looked around our group and I could see a wave of discomfort, the desire to comfort but also the wariness of interacting with such a demanding stranger. The man in the motorized chair lifted his head, tears were running down his cheeks. "I have cancer!"

Suddenly a larger bill appeared. "Go get something to eat," my wife said softly, patting his knee, "you'll feel better."

"I have cancer," the man said again, "cancer."

"Go get some food, then, get something to eat, you'll feel better, you'll see." The man looked around some more and then wheeled around and left as quickly as he had come.

I asked her later, as we walked along, if she thought he was a hustler or for real, she said all she knew was that the tears were real and when she patted his knee there was little there but bone.

I don't suppose it really matters what the truth is, what really matters is the way we choose to respond to the matters that present themselves. I was good with a dollar, my wife, with some kind words, a touch and a little extra. I guess that's just one of the reasons I love her.

Tim Bulone is an ardent observer of life on the swirling blue marble. He works at Davis Group Consulting and creates fine art and canvas prints which he likes to sell from time to time at www.MyFamilyArt.com. He is an early morning pedestrian in Belmont Shore, where he resides with his wife.