the homeless man

The homeless man. It was Sunday. We had a couple of hours to kill before going to the airport. We went to the park next to the USS Midway. The park is pretty cool. There is a statue of the famous "victory in Europe kiss," and the park is right on the waterfront.

The park is packed. You have to wait for a parking space. There are are several obviously homeless folks wandering around.

Scott stays in the car to read. The ladies sit on the marina edge to watch the fish and the crabs. I am tired and I am looking for a place to nap. I find a tree to lean up against. A homeless man starts talking to me and tells me his story. He is retired military. He lost all of his money in Vegas. He sleeps in the park now. All he owns is a sleeping bag and the clothes on his back.

The conversation ends. I fall asleep.

When my daughters noticed that I was asleep, they thought it was another great photo opportunity. Leaping into action, Alli wandered over and snuck right up close to me and was just about to take a picture.

That's when my protector stepped in. The homeless man said, "hey, what are you doing? It's not nice to take his picture."

The noise of the commotion woke me up. Alli said to the man, "that's my Dad."

I don't know that the homeless man was embarrassed. Alli was. The homeless man went on to explain that many people have very little contact with the homeless and take pictures of people who are down on their luck.

Well that is the story. What does it mean?

I was proud of the homeless man for protecting the dignity of someone that he thought was homeless.

I was not surprised that my daughter wanted to take a silly picture of me. It would not have been the first.

I guess the thing I will think of the most when I remember this story is that there are lots of people out there who are invisible to society. For one reason or another, they are alone and lost on the road of life. They need our help and they need our compassion. They may be homeless, but they are still people.

An outsider might have seen a man with his family and a homeless man. I think when God looks, He just sees people.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.