Subway Distribution a Success

If you read my last post, or if you read the next sentence, then you’re aware that I decided to distribute 10 ham & cheese Subway subs and 10 water bottles to the first 10 homeless people I saw as I walked about San Francisco. I miscalculated before going and only had enough with me for eight subs and eight waters.

As I walked out of Subway with eight individual bags I was actually growing nervous. I have no idea why. Perhaps I was worried about how they’d react, what others may think, or if it was a stupid idea altogether.

I really wanted to find the elderly woman I mentioned in my previous post so I walked towards that intersection. Sadly, she wasn’t there, but along the way I saw a man huddled over a street grate trying to wrap a blanket around the vents. He asked if I had a few pennies and I knelt down to offer him a sub with water. My nerves vanished when I saw how appreciative he was. He set it down next to him and I continued on.

I next came across a man and woman who were positioning blankets like a lean-to so that the grate vents would send warmth into their makeshift tent. I offered them each a sub with water and they both looked quite surprised. They said, “God bless you…so very much,” and immediately ripped into the bags. These two were obviously starving tonight.

At the end of that block I took a right towards the harrowed Tenderloin area and saw an older Asian woman rooting through a trash can with tongs to pull out bottles. I asked if she was hungry and if she’d like something to eat. She didn’t speak English but my extended hand didn’t need translation. She smiled, took the food, nodded to me, and placed it in her cart.

I walked a bit further but the streets were desolate so I turned around. The Asian woman smiled as I passed and then went back to her treasure hunt.

After I turned the corner I saw that the couple I had given subs to were almost finished with them. They never looked up at me. It’s as though they were absorbed in every bite. They just sat there quietly eating. It was awesome.

As I approached the first man I had met I noticed that someone was now sitting next to him. Each had half a sub and the bottle of water sat between them. He was sharing with his friend. I placed another bag between them, said “best to you both”, and walked on.

I made my way to the square where I had seen some homeless people earlier in the day and was approached by an older man with a long white beard along the way.

“Youngster,” he said calmly, “I am fifty cents short, think you can help an old man out?”

“How about a ham & cheese sub with bottled water?”

“Well,” he said with a laugh, “that sounds like a great bargain to me!”

He was such a nice guy. As I handed him a bag I asked what is name was. He said people call him Kris…as in Kris Kringle. I suppose he did have a little Santa flair to him and that can’t hurt when fundraising. I asked what he was fifty cents short for and he said he wanted to get some burgers over at Jack in the Box, but now he’ll try to get enough for a room. I gave him a big handful of change, wished him luck, and carried on with my little mission.

I remembered seeing a guy outside the Walgreen’s with a sign asking for change as people exited the store so I headed that way. I could see that he was there and I couldn’t cross the street fast enough.

I approached and offered him a sub but he declined. He pointed to his misshapened mouth and said that he had a broken jaw. He couldn’t chew. I asked what he ate and he said soup, milk, anything he doesn’t have to bite down on. He told me he was jumped and that they fractured his jaw in two places. He has no way of getting it tended to.

I offered to buy him soup in Walgreen’s but he said he wasn’t hungry and thanked me anyway. I gave him a few dollars and he sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at the top of his lungs. It sounded somewhat garbled since he couldn’t open his mouth very wide but it was working for him because a passing couple dropped some coins into his cup. I laughed and told him, “Hey, I think you’re on to something here.” I could hear him singing even when I was well down the street.

When I turned at the next corner I saw a person huddled under a crosswalk sign. It sounds so lame but I was really excited because I thought it was the woman I searched for earlier. Sure enough, it was. As I approached, she said almost instinctively, “Can you please help me?”

I knelt down and told her I had a sub sandwich and some water for her if she wanted it. She reached out saying, “Oh, yes I would sir!” and took the bag. I felt fulfilled and continued towards the street with the massage parlors, adult bookstore, and closed shops. Not for patronage, but to see if I could find my “I’m from North Carolina!” buddy. He was nowhere to be found.

I did approach a guy who was standing in the street with a cup in his hand and when I offered him a bag he backed away shouting, “I ain’t goin’ nowhere!”

I’m not sure what that meant but I wasn’t about to ask. I turned and briskly walked back toward the square. I crossed the street where the elderly woman was still camped out and she looked up at me saying, “Can you please help me?”. I stopped and said, “Dear, remember I just gave you the sub and water.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied before asking the next person for help. I could see that she had eaten some of the sub and that most of the water was gone but I handed her a dollar bill as well.

I took a left at the next corner to head back towards my hotel, and at the far end of the block, I saw someone wrapped in blankets sleeping in the corner of the Hilton hotel’s delivery bay. I crossed the street and approached quietly so that I wouldn’t wake him or her. I set the bag between him or her and the wall hoping it would be seen and eaten upon waking.

As I continued around the block to the front doors I could hear a man singing one block over. I took a detour to head that way and called Heather so that she could listen. I thought perhaps the Walgreen’s guy had relocated but it turned out to be a different man dressed in an old ill-fitting coat holding a cup.

I held the phone out so that Heather could hear him as I passed and he belted out, “I’m Gonna Let it Shine”. I only had a five dollar bill and no change so I told Heather that I was going to stop in a store, buy a drink to get some change, and go back. As I dropped a few dollars in his cup, he waved, but never broke from the lyrics. I continued to walk wondering if he only knew one verse of that song because he kept repeating it over, and over, and over again.

As I headed around the block to get back to the Hilton, I saw that same woman again, this time huddled under a different sign. Earlier I was all disappointed that I couldn’t find her and now she was everywhere. As I approached she waved to me and said, “Sir, can I ask you a question?”

I figured she finally recognized me and just wanted to find out what I was doing.

I knelt down, she looked at me, and she said, “Can you please help me?”

Oh, the irony.

“I’m trying to get a hotel room and it costs $20. Someone gave me $15. Do you think you can give me $5?”

I explained that I couldn’t after buying the dinners I gave out but gave her one dollar more. I don’t know what it was but she had grown on me. She told me that all she needs now is four more. I know as well as you do that she won’t be in a hotel room tonight, no matter how much she receives, and that’s okay with me. It doesn’t change my desire to help in the least.

I headed back to the hotel feeling so good. For less than $60 I got good exercise, talked with those I had previously ignored, fed eight hungry people, and got some enjoyment along the way. Considering people spend $60 for two eggs, two strips of bacon, some cantaloupe, and some milk here at the Hilton, I can think of worse ways to spend sixty bucks.

In the end, I realize I can’t change anything. I know that what I did is trivial in the grand scheme of things. But what I did made me feel good and it put smiles on a number of faces. I’ll go home happy knowing that I chose to do something rather than just walk by without acknowledging them.

I often wonder if some people don’t take action because they feel their impact won’t be felt…as though the problem is too big for one person to do anything about.

This may be true, but I don’t think anyone should choose inaction just because the greater goal seems unattainable. The mere fact that you can’t help all the people all the time shouldn’t stop you from helping some of the people some of time. I won’t he doling out quarters and subs to anyone with a hand out but I will help now and again with what I can.

All in all, I’d rather help two or three people because I can only help a few, than help zero because I can’t help them all.