Finding Gratitude - Reflections of Thanksgiving

As I reflect on Thanksgiving this evening, I want to share the story of a man who has been on my mind and in my heart since Tuesday morning (this is going to be a little long). He is someone's son, brother, and possibly someone's dad or husband...

My husband and I arrived in Chicago at dawn on Monday. We were here to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our daughter. We are both very fortunate that we are able to work remotely from our hotel room so we arrived in advance of all the other travelers.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up very early and ran down to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. I was going to prep for my meetings but they were packed. I ran back to the hotel and set up my computer in the business center. As I was wrapping up, a movement caught my eye and I looked across the street. It must have been a large piece of cardboard. I watched as the man across the street gathered cardboard from the stoop of a business and neatly folded each piece. He disappeared around the corner and returned to continue to clean the sidewalks of any refuse and picked up his backpack. He was wearing a hoody under his jacket and I really couldn't see his face. He then disappeared as the city came to life, well before 8 a.m. I was struck by his personal accountability and responsibility.

As I completed a day full of meetings, I found myself wanting to meet him and to learn more about him. After dinner that evening, I saw that his cardboard shelter set up on the stoop again. Due to an early meeting, I missed him Wednesday morning and I saw the shelter yet again on Wednesday night. I woke up very early on Thanksgiving day and I ran to Starbucks and into throngs of people gathering on the streets for the Thanksgiving parade. When I returned to the hotel I checked to see if the man was cleaning his area up. He was already gone.

When we returned from our early Thanksgiving dinner, I glanced over to the stoop across the street and it was empty. At about 9 p.m., I looked across the street and I saw the man setting up his cardboard shelter. I told my husband I was running down to meet him. I ignored his recommendation that I keep to myself.

As I approached the stoop, I called out, "Hello, Mister?" He turned around and I asked if he had been sleeping there this entire week. He nodded yes. I told him I had noticed him on Tuesday morning and was struck by his personal accountability to put his shelter away and clean up the area. I asked his name - it's Michael. He asked mine and I told him.

Michael shared that he places the cardboard between a couple of dumpsters around the corner and that he regularly uses the stoop as shelter from the bitter Chicago wind. He added that the owner of business lets him stay there because he is respectful and cleans up after himself. In fact, she defended him when her building landlord shared that a man was sleeping on her stoop at night and that he was planning to call the police. She told the landlord that, in fact, he cleaned the entire block and she had agreed to let him use the stoop in the evenings.

I asked Michael what he did during the day. He said that he loves science fiction and goes to the library to read during the day. He said that things had gone badly for him and sometimes it's just so hard to climb out of the abyss of homelessness. I told him I hoped he was able to get back on his feet again soon. I dug into my pocket and grabbed the only cash I had on hand which was a $5 bill. I handed it to him and told him I wish I had more but I didn't carry cash anymore. He thanked me as we touched elbows in farewell. I told him it was I who needed to thank him. He had renewed my faith in humanity by sharing his own humanity with me this week. And for that I am grateful...