Homeless man gives worker $5.00...Yes, God is watching!

As I waited in the early morning light for Jack-in-the-box to open, I spied a worker scrubbing down a paper stall at the curb.

Frankly, I was surprised. By the look of some of those money-grubbing contraptions, it appeared they were rarely ever cleaned.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, an elderly homeless man shuffled up and muttered to the man, "You're doing a great job".

As the paper carrier was about to recoil in horror, the curious street inhabitant rustled in his pocket and conjured up a crumpled bill.

"Here's five bucks. God bless," the street person uttered gruffly as he pressed the cash into the man's palm with a trembling hand.

Well, the startled fellow could have done one of two things, in my estimation.

He could have recognized the need of the homeless was greater than his own and politely refused the money with thanks.

Or, accepted the gift graciously.

After all, it is just as important to know how to "receive" as it is to give. Yes, on occasion people need to experience the joy of sharing, too.

In this instant case, the worker chuckled in a bemused manner, took the five bucks without hesitation, then watched the indigent man maneuver his body slowly down the pavement.

When a fellow worker returned after fussing about in a company truck, the recipient of the gift could have done one of two things - either kept the incident a secret - or shared the precious moment with his buddy.

"A guy just gave me five bucks for doing a great job cleaning the boxes," he jovially noted to his co-worker.

"Yeah, who?"

"That old guy, that homeless man over there," he chuckled wickedly.

It was obvious to me what was coming next.

His friend chided him, "Are you going to give half to me?"

After all, he was on the job, too.

"No way," the gift-getter cackled.

"This has never happened to me before in all the days I have worked on this job. The Universe is speaking to me."

In a nutshell, he was right. God appears in the humblest of places.

The Universe was not only speaking to him, but testing him as well.

In the final analysis, he failed on all counts.

Heda Bejar once said,
The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.

Jack in the Box...employees cruel to homeless person, show lack of compassion in San Francisco!

This morning I witnessed a disturbing event at a "Jack in the Box" fast food outlet at Mason and Geary in downtown San Francisco.

A homeless person, wrapped in a white blanket, was slumped over the counter in a quiet section of the restaurant.

One of the employees strode over to the destitute person and rudely shouted, "Heh, wake up. You have to get out. This is not a Hotel."

When the individual failed to move on, the employee threatened to call the Police.

Moments later, a warning message was blasted over the loudspeaker, advising that if the "person wrapped in the white blanket" did not exit immediately, the police would be called to deal with the problem.

Shortly after that, the person - who turned out to be a woman - glanced out the window in fear. When it was apparent that the police had failed to arrive at that juncture, she proceeded to sift through the trash bin...after locating some scraps of food, and scooping them up, she returned to her perch on a stool by the door.

Moments later when it was evident that the police were on the way, the woman scurried out of the outlet, and down the cold, wet street.

A police car squealed to a stop outside the front entrance moments later, and a couple of men in blue jumped out of their squad car with a bounce in their step. One officer jammed a long billy club into a loop on his belt, ready for action - I guess.

In the "Jack in the Box" take-out, the city's finest queried a couple of the customers as to the whereabouts of the homeless person. When one person noted she was seen entering the alley out back, they went off in hot pursuit.

What wrongful act had she committed?

Was it a crime to be homeless, or hungry, or in need of shelter from the worst storm to hit the West Coast in the past ten years?

Frankly, I thought the way the employees handled the situation amounted to rotten, mean-spirited, atrocious behavior.

It was bad enough to send the homeless person out into the cold without an act of charity - for example, a handful of food - but to insult her by making unnecessary comments like "This is not a Hotel", was outrageous and shocking conduct.

"Jack in the Box" is a successful company which has made millions from the public with their fast-food business. Would it be too much to ask that they give back to the community, for once? Perhaps they could provide a "homeless" assistance program with some of their profits - instead of insulting the needy - and ceremoniously turfing them into the streets with threat of arrest.

Curiously, this morning's paper noted that in an interview yesterday, Mayor Newsom admitted he had not done enough for the homeless this past year. Well, in view of what I witnessed this morning, there is no better time to address the issue.

Up until today, the Mayor has been silent on his proposals for the coming year.

At his inauguration today, let's hope he speaks up about the homeless issue, and backs his concerns with a bona fide program - with some teeth in it - to alleviate the problem and bring relief to the poor.

Margaret Cho once said,

"If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach."