Popcorn and Nostalgia

I have said it before, and I'll say it again, "I love the people my work allows me to interact with."

A few Monday's ago a homeless man shows up at our church early in the afternoon.  He was about 6 feet tall, african american, in his late 40's, and as meek as anyone can be.  After a while we learned bits of each other's stories and I discovered he needed some warm clothes (being that he is sleeping outside).  We went to the clothing rooms in our church and he picked out a warm jacket and a long sleeve shirt.  I asked if he needed any food as well, and he stopped shuffling through the clothing rack and said, "no, but do you all have any popcorn?"  Out of all the things he could have responded with I thought it unlikely that he would a) turn down free food and b) instead, ask if we had popcorn.

I said, "No, I don't think so.  You a big fan of popcorn?"  He said, "Yeah, it's one of those feel-good foods for me.  My mom used to make the best popcorn over the stove."  He and I continued to chat about popcorn, how much we both loved it, and fond memories of family.

Everyone has a story.  Everyone.  Next time you see someone you think might be homeless say to yourself, "That person has a story just like me.  They have memories of popcorn and nostalgia just like me."  That is the first step in making the invisible of our society visible.