Wednesday, March 25, 2009

2 All Beef Patties Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onions on a Sesame Seed Bun

Today, I picked up Elijah from school and Dane was actually sleeping in his seat, so I thought we'd try to beat his next feeding and run to let Elijah pick out his pinata for his upcoming party.  Some of you are probably thinking, "Why is this pinata choice so paramount?"

Well, being the brown/white family we are, pinatas are like cake for any birthday celebration.  The kids LOVE them....to them, it's really the BEST part of their party.  Candy and good stuff falling from the ceiling.  Must I say more?  And, picking the pinata is the equivalent of picking their theme.  So, without a pinata, the mama has no idea of what direction to go with the rest of the fun.

So, we made it!  Elijah did fabulous; Dane slept through to the very end AND he woke up smiling and talking.  It was all good.  Pinata chosen and balloons ordered....party underway!

We walked out the door and a man sitting on the curb said something.  I continued putting the kids in the van and then told him I hadn't heard what he said.  Turns out he needs money to get to Topeka.  I explain that we don't carry cash and that if he wants to meet me at the McDonald's a few hundred yards away, I'll get him something to eat.  He seems uninterested and asks again for money (bad sign).  I say, I only have a few coins if that would help.  He assures me my few cents will have him well on his way to Topeka.

So, I fork over a quarter and 6 or so dimes.  I'm thinking, at this rate it'll be next month before he gets to Topeka (if that's what this is REALLY for anyway).  With this in mind and being the nosy person I am, I ask, how are you getting to Topeka?  He tells me he had a fight with his girlfriend and she's "put him out", so he guesses he'll take the bus or get someone in the apt complex to drive him Topeka (good luck with that).

I tell him goodbye and am climbing in the van when he says, "About that food...."  I'm thinking, okay at first you don't seem interested in the food and now you do...I'm confused.   I stutter around.  It's now time for Dane to eat and his engines are revving.  And, of course there's NO WAY I'm letting him in the van.  Plus, I don't feel like it would work with tiny boy's hunger to go into McD's, pay for the guy's food, and explain that he'll be coming behind me to pick it up.

Instead, I tell him I'll go get him a hamburger and bring it back to him.  Then he says, "Yeah, that'll work.  A double cheeseburger with like a small fry and a drink." Did he just order from me like he was at the drive through window?  I said, "So a hamburger?"  "Yeah" he agreed.  I told him I'd be right back.

I get the food (by this time Dane's DEFINITELY telling me he's ready to eat himself) and we head back across 3 stoplights to the guy.  I don't see him as I'm pulling up, but think maybe he's sitting behind a couple of the cars.  I drive around.  Nope not here.  So, I drive across the parking lots in the direction he would've walked if he was going towards McD's.  Nope, not there either.  I scan the whole area....guy GONE!

So, I see a Goodwill truck thing.  You know the kind that's like a semi truck trailer parked and a person sits there taking the donations. There's a happy looking guy there, so I think, I'll give it to him.  It's lunchtime and maybe he doesn't get a break.  I get out and briefly explain the situation and ask if he wants the burger and water.  He's surprised, but sure, he'll love it.  I start to hop back in the van.

And, then I hear it.  Someone saying "Hey."  And, then I SEE him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the original guy coming...he's a couple hundred feet away.  Dane's still hungry, so I just continue my movement of getting in the van.  

I hope that the hamburger doesn't start a tussle between the panhandling, drive through ordering man and the happy Goodwill worker.  But, if it did, I was hoping for the Goodwill worker.

Now, that I'm thinking of it....I should've driven out and around to see how it went down.  Instead, I sped out of the lot with screeching wheels and smoking tires.  Okay, maybe not. :)

1 comment:

Jessica the Jacked LDS said...

WHAT?!?! okay there are SO many points of this story that I would have done things differently. i would have offered the guy food, yes. but once he started "ordering" from me i would have said....uhmmm it's FREE and you didn't even want it in the first place so you'll take what I give you.

next, when he wasn't there i would have offered it to the goodwill man, yes. i love that you did that.

BUT when i SAW the originial man i would have said to him, "you snooze you lose..."

ugh...how annoying.