A Homeless Man Made Me Happier Than I Made Him

By athena • December 2, 2014

There is a corner not far from my house by a gas station and freeway. 9 times out of 10 there will be a homeless person there with a sign. I always try to at least send a smile and not "look through" the homeless. Well today that smile prompted him to walk up to my window and ask for cash so he could rent a room tonight. I shook my head no and motioned that I didn't have an money on me. I typically won't give out cash but will always give food if I have snacks. He started to walk to the car behind me when I realized I had 4-5 warm men's jackets from a storage unit that I was just going to donate anyway. So I hollered to him and asked if he wanted a jacket. It's in the teens here today and just downright numbing. I half expected him to pass or whatever, but what he did next through me for a loop.

He said yes eagerly and had the happiest most ecstatic face when I handed him a coat. The light changed and as I was driving away, I saw him put his stuff down hastily and start to put the jacket on.

It made me so happy that in that moment we were just two fellow humans. Seeing his face light up and his eagerness to put on a warm coat just really touched my heart. It struck me as a very raw moment of simple happiness that I didn't expect today and don't have the joy of feeling very often.

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