Friday, December 17, 2010

Another Christmas Wish

I work very part time at a local Dunkin Donuts, and today I got up at 3:00 AM as I do every Friday morning to open the store. I park my car in our garage, so I don't have to worry about going into the cold to start my car. Instead I get into a nice warm car, and drive 15 minutes to work.
Today after the store was open, there was no one there, just me and two of my co-workers. Well a man came in. He was wearing a hat, and a huge coat with a hood. The hood was very big, and lined with what I assume to be fake fur. The Hood was so big that it came over his eyes, and I could see very little of his face. He came into the store, and went straight to the restroom.
I had never seen him before, and honestly at 5am in the morning I usually only see regulars. You know, the people that order the same thing every week, and you can almost make their coffee as they walk through the door because you know exactly what they are going to order. Well, this is going to sound awful, but because I had never seen him before, I was a little creeped out. I know its bad to stereotype people, but he looked like the type to rob someone.
I was talking to my co-workers about him while he spent 20 plus minutes in the restroom, and one of the girls said that he has been coming in quite often. She said that he has been coming in with change and buying a muffin. She said that then he goes and sits in the corner taking his time to eat the muffin. She said that she thinks he is homeless, and just looking for a warm place.
I kind of felt awful after she told me that. Here I am thinking he is gonna rob the place, and the poor guy is just cold. When he came out of the restroom he didn't have his hood on, and form the looks of it he was not much older than I am. I honestly felt guilty for thinking so poorly of him just by looking at him. I felt guilty because I have warm place to go to, food on the table each night, and a loving family at home.
I really wanted to bring him something to eat, but I knew that I would get into trouble by my manager, and I kind of understood that. If I had some money on me I would have bought him something when I left, but at the same time I was worried about offending him.

So another one of my Christmas Wishes this year would be, that I am able to not be so quick to judge people. That I will be able to step back for a minute and not jump to conclusions right away. I hope that people are able to find warm shelter this season, and always have a place to rest their head at night.

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