Hey Mikey, Do you like chicken?

Another encounter with our friend Mike, from the GTA.

This one comes to me again, from my sister, who seemingly has taken quite a liking to ole Mikey. (lol) Well, anyway, her story goes like this.

As a regular part of owning three dogs, she must walk them daily to keep them healthy and all those other reasons us "non-dog" people don't know about. But something was a bit off recently. She hadn't seen Mike in the park in over two days. So she started to wonder if he perhaps might have started to stay at the shelter, as he mentioned he would before, or perhaps he may have even passed away, and that left her feeling lonesome and worried, as she would have no way of knowing what happened to her recent befriended individual.

But alas, Mike was there on yet another trip to the park. Glad on the inside to see her little buddy, she approached him yet again, with coaxing her dogs to come as well, and said, "How are you Mike?" He responded favourably and said "Not bad." She noticed that his words were not slurred today, as they are at other times. The thought had crossed her mind before, as it does all of ours that perhaps Mike was under the influence of alcohol. And as most of us think, she probably was disappointed to think that Mike was just another 'boozer' type thing. But today's concerns for Mike brought about a different feeling.

Feelings of compassion and mercy for Mike's situation, she understood the 'why's' today, and could see herself doing the same exact thing if she were in his situation. It's easy for us to stand back here, and think of disgusting thoughts of no self-will, or lack of control, when we think of any alcoholic, or addict. And to top it all off, add that to being homeless, and poor with no money other than what others so graciously give you? Well, that's the ultimate disgust to see our hard earned money go to waste on something as frivolous as booze or drugs. But you know what? She, you, I, would do exactly the same thing to numb our reality if sleeping under cold, spider-infested bridges was the only thing we had to look forward to.

Her conversation continued with her new found neighbour, with a million questions rambling through her mind. She asked him about when he was going to go start sleeping in the shelter. He mumbled something to the effect of, if he found himself in the middle of a blizzard--then that's cold. So i suppose it's the bridge until the snow fly's. As he sat on the ground under his blankets counting the only money he had, he again asked her for the time. He seems to want to know the time a lot, she said. So she told him what time it was, and said, "you need a watch." And he chuckled and replied, "I'm particular about my watches, I like Casio".

I suppose everyone needs to have certain things in life, not all of them are survival items, but things that would be nice to have just the same. And its not like Casio brand watches are top of the line watches, but its okay that Mike, like you or I, might prefer one brand to another. Mike doesn't ask for much really. Heck I've had kids that ask for way more than Mike has. (Sorry girls) So she continued to chat with him, for just long enough that he could visit with the furry friends, who by the way, can't judge Mike like you or I, and long enough to introduce herself to him.

Later that evening, as she prepared for work, an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over her heart, when thinking about her wonderful chicken dinner she was packing for herself. And well, the rest is history. Into the microwave it went, off to the park she ran, and in a flash she was there with Mike again. (He's probably thinking, "Who is this lunatic-does she ever leave me alone? hahaha) She asked him if he liked chicken, and of course he liked chicken, who doesn't right? Feeling good about herself, she was ready to turn back, when Mike piped up and asked her what he might have been trying to spit out all day but didn't for some reason. He mentioned that he was a little short for cash for renting a room in the shady motel next door. The price was $77 per night! Way over priced, however, she told Mike that it was very expensive, and that she didn't have any money on her right then.

Leaving Mike at that moment, saying "eat your chicken before it gets cold", must have been one of the hardest things to do. We first allow our minds to think, "ahhh, he's just like the rest of them, always after the money, or always wanting a nice hotel room, too good for the shelter." That is what you were thinking wasn't it? It was my first thought. But then again, like the watch, why wouldn't ole Mikey want a nice motel room once in awhile. Would you want to go to the shelter? Would you want to have to sleep with one eye open to make sure none of your LIFE in your shopping cart was stolen? I wouldn't want that for my worst enemy. But we can't save them all. And it's sad really, to know that Jesus told us that we would have the poor always. Why is that. Why does it have to be that way.

We still need to help in any small way that we can. Smiles, hello's, loose change, food, warm clothes, scarves, the list goes on.

She had tuna that night.