Opportunity

Today, I honor my partner by posting his New Year's letter to his friends and family. As you read, you'll sense his struggle and the advances he hopes that we'll all make in 2007. He knows the value of time and how fleeting it can be. To wish you all peace and encouragement as we move forward....yet one more notch on the clock of life. Big New Year's Hugs to you all....Lewis. And now......(If it's not the top posting when you get to this site, scroll through until you find "Opportunity")..http://its-raining-men.blogspot.com/

Stash of Dollar Bills

I'm out of the hotel early this morning, 6:00, and off to Starbucks for the obligatory tall nonfat vanilla latte before a busy day of flying. The streets of Oakland are pretty quiet. It's still dark and cool, maybe 40. There are a few people getting an early start setting up in the street for the Friday Market that always looks so tempting whenever I happen to be there on a Friday. Starbucks is a block down the street from the hotel.....I cross over Broadway and turn left. There's a bundle of blankets, or is it a couple of heavy winter coats, with a woman all wrapped up inside...her very own (warm?) cocoon. It's her house, actually. Her hood is pulled up over her head, just her face is showing, sort of, when it's not looking down at the cold gray sidewalk. She is sitting on the ground and asks if I have any change when I pass by. I have never given a dime to anybody on the streets that I remember. Not really any real good reason for not doing it. Just have chosen not to, I guess. Sometimes I think it's a scam, or kids just trying to get a few extra bucks for pot or beer, but I know it's not always that way. Today is no different. I walk right on by her ignoring her plea. And then it hits me, just about the time I'm opening the door, smelling the pastries and hot coffee: Right now, I'm the very thing that I don't like in our world. Nicely dressed, fresh out of the hot soapy shower, clean clothes, and marching my pretty little arrogant ass into the local corporate conglomerate coffee shop to drop $3 on a drink. Not a bad thing...but sometimes I hate that part of our country....and now it's me.....I'm a part of it....I'm the one doing it.......being an active participant in separating myself from "those other people." So, I order and wait. I turn and look outside through the well decorated windows and see the back of her head outside. She has taken over my mind....all without doing a thing. Wonder how long she's been there? Is she there all of the time? Maybe that's "her spot." The coffee comes up for "Lewis" and I'm off....back outside with a dollar bill in my hand, folded up neatly, to give to her when I pass by her again. I'm still trying to avoid eye contact as I walk directly toward her.....why? I don't know. So, I slip her the dollar and keep on moving. She says nothing. And it happens again...the cynicism rears its ugly head...and I say "you're welcome" to her because she didn't thank me...and keep on walking toward the hotel. Just trying to remind her that she should say "thank you" when given something. On my right, I'm passing an old beat-up pickup that has pulled over to the curb and is putting up a homemade sign on butcher paper along the side of the pickup: "Live Chickens." The back of the truck is filled with four or five huge steel chicken cages filled with what are supposed to be live chickens. They don't look alive to me. Ick. I'm disgusted and turn my head away. Back to thinking about the girl. And quickly reminded of my sister who spent a good portion of her life on the streets, begging, sleeping rolled up in cardboard for the night under a Rhododendron bush. Thank god she's not there any longer. I wonder if people helped her? I wonder if assholes like me walked on by her or thought less-than-positive thoughts about her. Or if they said "you're welcome" to her if she forgot to say "thanks." God, I hope not. I've thought about this girl for the rest of my day. It occurred to me that she was probably afraid to say anything to me after I totally ignored her on my initial way into get my rich white boy gay coffee. There always seems to be a struggle between my head and my heart. An internal Iraq war going on...based on bad intelligence sometimes, I think. I always try to remind myself that I never know what journey the other person is on. Who they are, where they've come from, or where they are going. Hell, maybe they don't even know. I do know that 2007 is going to be a different year for me. There may even be a stash of dollar bills in my pocket.

The Holidays....Time for Random Acts of Kindness

It's official! The holiday (whatever holiday you want include is fine with me....Arbor Day, Secretary Week, Clean the Bathtub Week, whatever) season has officially started. We don't exchange presents with our families--but for some reason we were out of bed at 05:30 yesterday and off to Best Buy, bought gas, went to Target, had breakfast (potato pancakes), Barnes and Noble (December issues of Out and The Advocate), and JC Penney's.....is there something wrong with this picture? We actually find it kind of fun when there is no agenda or obligation. I think we're weirder than I thought we were.

I'm teaming up with my fellow blogger at Mr. Joe Blog's Blog. He's putting together a, hopefully, long list of those who have done random acts of kindness and are willing to share their story. He is trying to inspire all of us to be better people and to keep those less fortunate than ourselves in mind. I'd like to encourage you to visit his site and either email him (it's in his profile) or attach a comment to his posting on the subject. Years ago, a friend told me that his family takes whatever money they were going to spend on gifts for others and buys a pile of warm blankets. Then, they load the whole family in the car and go looking for those on the streets, under the bridges, or wrapped up in cardboard sleeping and give them a blanket. If your family has ever had someone you know personally in one of these terrible situations, you'll know exactly where I'm coming from. An amazing opportunity! I hope you'll visit Mr. Joe Blog's Blog and send him a story to post. It can be helping somebody in need, giving of your time, help or advice. It can even be anonymous. He's really hoping to kind of propel a Pay It Forward type of wave. Let's have fun with this thing and see if our world can be just a little bit better of a place to live.