a homeless friend just woke me out of a deep sleep.....

Ok, my brother and I have a few homeless friends that we help out from time to time. They might do something for us like run to the store or something and we'll give them a few bucks here and there or let them come in and get something to eat etc. Now before I go on, I should say, I don't make them do stuff for me in exchange for anything, they just will want to do something as opposed to accepting a straight handout. For example, I might give one of the guys a few bucks and the next day he might come by the house with a bottle of pop or something he bought with his food stamps. Sort of a pride thing, and they feel like we are all friends and friends do each other favors and so on. I don't mind any of this, they are both good guys who had some tough luck and battled a few demons. (alcoholics) So I do my best to be good to them and so on.

Well anyway, one of the guys is very timid and quiet. Sometimes he will come up to the door and just stand there too timid to even knock, just hoping my brother or I will figure out he was there and open the door. Only recently he has actually started knocking, which brings me to my story. I have been up since like 1 AM or so, just couldn't sleep last night, however I finally dozed off watching tv a few hours ago. I was totally exhausted. My brother is gone right now, somewhere with my uncle so I am peacefully crashed out on my futon, when I hear a knock on the door. I wake up, dazed, incoherent and barely knowing where I am. Immediately I start to doze off again when I hear some more knocking. Ok, I'm thinking I accidentally locked my brother out, so I somehow stagger to the door, only to find Tom, who is the timid homeless guy, standing there.

Ok, so he has learned to knock, but he still isn't all that good at saying what he actually wants. I open the door, and sleepily say "Uh... hi Tom." And he just stands there. So I say "Tim's not around right now." Tom just keeps standing there. I'm nearly asleep on my feet. Tom continues to stand there. I snap to out of it and say: "Well, ok.. I'll let him know you came by." Tom is still standing there, but this time he is holding up quite possibly the most pathetic looking hand-rolled cigarette, which is unlit. Then he meekly asks if I have a light. I barely hear him at all he is so quiet and I am barely even able to think. So, it then registers with me a few seconds later what he said and I state: "uh.. no, sorry, I don't have a light.. well, I was sleeping so I'll see you later, Tom." Tom just stands there. I do not want to be a total dick and slam the door in his face, because he still is acting like he wants something. I stand there some more. Tom stands there some more. Finally he says, "Uh, can I light it on your burner." Well, I absolutely do not want to let him in, not because of him or anything like that, but because I want nothing more than to crash out again. But, I say sure and open the door, and I know Tom will be too shy to go turn the burner on himself so I go turn it on high for him. Then I stagger back to my futon, sit there, barely able to even sit up normally while Tom lights his cigarette.

Then once it's lit, Tom walks over and stands by this chair like he is going to sit down or something. Meanwhile, I have to shake my head a few times to clear the cobwebs and Tom continues to stand there. I'm starting to doze off when he figures out that I was sleeping and he slowly walks to the door. Somehow I get up and say goodbye etc, when Tom stops out on the steps and acts like he wants something. Again, I do not want to shut the door on him, but he is just standing there. So I stand there waiting for him to say something. He asks for some water. I say sure. However, I have no clean glasses and I do not want to give him some water and have him sit in my apartment while I struggle to stay awake. So somehow I search out an empty small bottled water container in the fridge. Just dumb luck I even had it. I rinsed it out, filled it with cold water, gave it to Tom and he started walking out the door. I again say goodbye, tell him to have a good one etc, when he stops and stands there like he wants to say something. Tom stands. I nearly fall over because I'm still barely coherent. Tom stands some more. I stand. Then he says: "Sorry to bother you and wake you up.... "

I just say: "Oh no problem, I was only taking a nap." Because I figure I get to sleep in a comfortable apartment, while that poor guy sleeps on the hard ground in a dry river bed every night. I'm lucky, you know? So I better damn be good to somebody who isn't as priveleged as I am. It would be immoral to not be good to a fellow human being who is in need. I understand this. Yet, I still want to sleep.

So finally Tom leaves, and I decided to crash out.

I lie around for an hour, exhausted, tossing and turning.

I can't sleep.

So I got up and wrote this.

:)

But, at least I helped somebody who needed something. And, I think that is more important than a little sleep any day. :)

:hi:

anyway. :) Thanks, I try. :)

gosh, now if I cracked a joke that somebody could go out of their way be offended at you can be sure everybody would show up on that thread. :)

lol

:hug:

yeah, join the club. :)

Thank you for being human for Tom. :hug:

I sometimes do not want to deal with a situation like that I just remember how hard life is like for someone who has lost everything and has nothing. All he wanted was a light and a drink of water, that isn't asking too much you know? :) You're welcome.

You are a fucking saint!

Omigod......how did you do it?

I'm not sure just what I would have done.....but you just earned your halo!

Good for you.....now go get some sleep!

:yourock:

you are the saint! I was just too tired to say no. :)

:hug:

don't tell Dick Cheney that. He might try to get it. :)

Thanks.:)

I scream that I have firearms and tell'em to fuck off or I'll sic the dog on'em. :evilgrin:

Like CP said, you're a fucking saint.

my time it was a little earlier than that, plus I did try to go to sleep afterwards for an hour, and then it took my a while to write this, so I think it must've been about 7 or 8 when it happened. Still.. I was damn tired, haha. :)