A funny thing happened on the way to the corner store

A couple days ago I heard this Akron/Family song called "So it Goes"and really liked it.

it goes:

I went away, away from this open heart,
Away from this place I started so long ago.
Out there I found, out in this lovely world,
So many people just like myself.
Just like them, I stopped giving my change,
To all the homeless people out on the street.
But I changed back. I give my change again,
To anyone who asks so long as I have a pocket.
Last night I saved $1.80 on ice-cream at Safeway,
a woman outside then asked me for a dollar-eighty,
Was it meant to be, an act of God or robbery,
I myself don't know, so it goes.

Then last night I went to Trudy's in a group of 12 and felt drowsy post meal. I decided to step out and buy a Redbull at the Botega down the way. As I was walking, I saw a transient looking man up ahead lying, smoking a cigarette with his head tilted up on some stairs. As I was contemplating crossing to the other side of the street to avoid being asked for change, I had a change of heart, and stopped to see if I had a small bill and approached him with a dollar. He said all that he really needed was an ambulance, whereupon I realized that his head was bleeding from the temple and he had macerations above and below his eye. He had hit a bump in the pavement and had fallen out of his wheelchair. He was completely grateful when I took charge of his situation. EMS was dispatched and came to the scene quickly, and I saw Mr. Urquart off with them.


The whole thing renewed my sense of purpose and also my feelings toward spirituality. He had been there for 30 minutes and no one listened to him, bless his heart. I almost avoided the situation entirely. All my life, I have had a perhaps more pronounced sense of compassion and connection towards the homeless, and with age have distanced myself from the outreach that was once part of my life. I feel very positive about becoming a nurse, and very lucky to have the opportunity to do so, because I think I will find great fulfillment in the field.