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I Tried to do my Good Deed for the Day
Oct. 21st, 2007 06:41 pmThis afternoon I was at the Richmond, CA, AMTRAK station, waiting for the train to take me to see my beloved ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
darkmoon (who I have been pretty seriously dating for several months; it just occurred to me that I may not have mentioned that in my LJ previously) in Sacramento. A man very cautiously approached me and said that he had just been released from prison and needed help getting enough money together to get to Sacramento. He was holding his release papers in front of him as he said this.
I really did not have enough cash on me to help out, but I offered something possibly better... I have a ticket for multiple trips between Richmond and Sacramento, and it can be used to take additional passengers other than myself. Each trip only costs me $11, so why not? Either the guy went to prison for breaking a law I probably didn't agree with in the first place, or at the very least someone deserves some breaks once they've served some serious time.
So, the guy agreed, then went back down into the station.
He had not come back up by the time the train arrived, and I rushed and called his name to make sure he knew the train was there, but he was nowhere to be seen. Somewhat reluctantly I got on the train at the last possible minute before the doors closed. The train pulled away.
I can't help but feel slightly bad to have left him behind. Sure, he knew when the train was to arrive; sure, maybe he was telling his sad story to shake people down for money for purposes other than what he stated.
Sure, maybe I'm a sucker to have offered to help in the first place.
I'd much rather that be the case than the guy mistakenly thinking that I said I'd help and then just did not.
In any case, I sincerely hope that someone else made the choice to give this guy a hand.
At times when you're really down, a random act of kindness can make all the difference in the world.
I hope that my offer at least made the day a little brighter; the air a little fresher; his newfound freedom a little more free.
Yeah, I'm probably a sucker. Sometimes maybe the world needs more suckers....
darkmoon (who I have been pretty seriously dating for several months; it just occurred to me that I may not have mentioned that in my LJ previously) in Sacramento. A man very cautiously approached me and said that he had just been released from prison and needed help getting enough money together to get to Sacramento. He was holding his release papers in front of him as he said this.I really did not have enough cash on me to help out, but I offered something possibly better... I have a ticket for multiple trips between Richmond and Sacramento, and it can be used to take additional passengers other than myself. Each trip only costs me $11, so why not? Either the guy went to prison for breaking a law I probably didn't agree with in the first place, or at the very least someone deserves some breaks once they've served some serious time.
So, the guy agreed, then went back down into the station.
He had not come back up by the time the train arrived, and I rushed and called his name to make sure he knew the train was there, but he was nowhere to be seen. Somewhat reluctantly I got on the train at the last possible minute before the doors closed. The train pulled away.
I can't help but feel slightly bad to have left him behind. Sure, he knew when the train was to arrive; sure, maybe he was telling his sad story to shake people down for money for purposes other than what he stated.
Sure, maybe I'm a sucker to have offered to help in the first place.
I'd much rather that be the case than the guy mistakenly thinking that I said I'd help and then just did not.
In any case, I sincerely hope that someone else made the choice to give this guy a hand.
At times when you're really down, a random act of kindness can make all the difference in the world.
I hope that my offer at least made the day a little brighter; the air a little fresher; his newfound freedom a little more free.
Yeah, I'm probably a sucker. Sometimes maybe the world needs more suckers....
