Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I was driving from work to my babysitter, the same way that I always do. And, like always, there was a man on the on-ramp with a sign. I didn't read it all, but gathered that he was a veteran and that he wanted to work. For some reason my heart was drawn to his full-grown beard and his eagle hat. 
 
I gave him my last two dollars. Then I paused for a moment.
 
"Would you like some food?" I asked.
 
"That's what I'm going to use this for." He indicated towards the money.
 
"I meant would you like some groceries." Mind you, I'm on food stamps myself and scrimping as it is on $50 a week for me and my son.
 
His face lit up. And I offered to give him a ride. The second he got in the car, he was praising. 
 
We went and I quickly picked up my son. The man said I was brave for picking up a stranger, especially with my two year old. I told him I was "packing"' and laughed. I was, but I wasn't trying to be threatening.
 
We couldn't find a nearby dollar store or grocery store but I convinced him to let me take him to McDonalds. I hate fast food, but I knew this man didn't care.
 
I spent two hours sitting there with him. We laughed, we cried, he told me his story. He told of his years of service; teared up about his wife who had fallen into hard drugs; was sad about having to give up his dog when he fell homeless; told of his interests of Nascar and World of Warcraft. He told me of the little "camp" he had built under a nearby bridge. It actually sounded quite impressive! He had crafted a little "hut" with a plastic window and shelves out of garbage. 
 
He was delighted just to have someone to talk to. He told me that the other homeless people were almost all on drugs or alcohol so he had a hard time relating to them. He hadn't had any real interaction, like a real conversation, in almost a year. 
 
There was shame in his eyes when he talked of begging. It obviously embarrassed him greatly.
 
I ended by giving him my number (he did have a little free phone even though he can't get any other sort of assistance) and told him to let me know if he needed anything, that I had plenty sitting around.
 
I hope to run into him again. I felt so blessed to have had such an amazing and humbling experience. I hope his luck improves. And I would certainly do anything I could to help.