Loki

Today, after taking the boy down to pick up a copy of the play he's going to be in this summer, we stopped at Wendy's for a couple of Baconators. In line ahead of us was a homeless looking fellow. I never got to see his face, but he had that beaten down slope shouldered look that old men get after a while. I saw him count out a bunch of change and then get his small bag. Then the boy and I got busy with ordereing our food and I didn't see the guy again until we sat by the window to eat.

I watched him shuffle off to the bus stop where he could sit in the shade, his back to me the whole time. It was hot today... Camp Mabry hit 100, but most of the city was about 97. I keep feeling like I needed to do something for the guy, so when the boy and I finished up, I got a couple of Jr Bacon Cheese burgers and two bottled waters to go, walked over to the truck and got two dollars from my change and carried it over to him.

As I approached him, saying 'Here you go brother', he looked up and took me by surprise. First, his eyes were the bluest blue I'd ever seen... the blue of a Texas summer sky. His beard was blonde, in contrast with his dirty brown hair, which, likely, was brown because it WAS dirty. And he was young... 25-35 range perhaps. But the most surprising thing of all was his statement to me as I offered him the food and water.

'Perfect timing,' he says, 'I was just telling myself I could use a cold drink of water!' And then he flashed the whitest teeth ever in a smile I'd never expect from someone surviving on the streets.