My youngest son lives in New York City. My husband, my eldest son and I visited him there. We did the usual things; we went to see the Christmas lights in Rockefeller Center, ate good food, went to a show, visited the Guggenheim, and so on.As we were walking down a street my oldest son, who is very shy about doing the "right" thing, said he wanted to go in a store to see if they had a jacket he wanted.
It was very cold and windy but my husband and I waited outside while the boys went in. I went over to another store to buy some chocolate and when I came out my husband was talking to a homeless man.
I saw my husband take off his gloves and hat and give it to Frank, the homeless man.
Frank had been living in Bellevue for a while until the hurricane hit NYC last fall. They took the people living there and put them in homes because they needed the beds for people who had been hurt in the hurricane. Frank said he didn't do very well in homes because the younger guys would steal his things and pick on him.
He was panhandling, trying to get $25 so he could get four hours in a "flop-house" where he could sleep without anyone bothering him. All he had to keep him warm was a hoodie, and now the gloves and hat my husband had given him.
When our oldest son came out of the store he had bought a brand
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new coat. We asked him what he was going to do with the old one. He said he would probably just take it home. It was a puffy, warm, ski jacket. We suggested giving it to Frank.
My son and husband walked up to Frank and handed him the coat. Frank said, "Did you buy this for me?" My son said no, but he wanted Frank to have it.
Frank just stood there holding the coat and was almost in tears.
Our oldest son couldn't get the picture of Frank out of his mind. He went home, got all his clothes that he never wore, and took them to a homeless shelter for men. He has done this a couple times now.
Frank benefited from the encounter - and so did our son.
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- Posted by Pjennings250
- Sep 12, 2013
- Comments (8)
Readers Comments
LovesVeggies wrote: How special that you were there to support your son in his reaching out to a stranger in need. Being there to share with him that 'good feeling' of caring for someone else - of overcoming the shyness of it all. Blessings.
eroh wrote: Thank you for a very uplifting story.
rkwolfgang wrote: How touching to read that your act of kindness and compassion was witnessed and passed to your own child. What an miracle of kindness this is - a tangible act that will ripple through to the next generation. Bless you.
moybean wrote: Thank you for the multi-generational sharing! I hope others will be inspired to do similar acts of kindness.
FairyBubbles wrote: Your story has really made me cry - that was so lovely of your husband and your son. They are truly beautiful people.
jsmc10 wrote: Your family sounds so wonderful and you've made such a difference to Frank and other homeless men :)
Mish wrote: Beautiful acts of kindness! Blessings.
Dobby wrote: Thank you for such a wonderful story! I'm so glad your son got to open up to that kind of giving. And I'm thankful that your family was there at the right time to help Frank.
