It wasn’t all that long ago when Carmen found herself eating at a Raising Cane’s restaurant in California. It’s a chain that’s well known for its delicious chicken strips. And, just as it was known for, those chicken strips truly were delicious, Carmen thought.
While she was munching away on those awesome strips, she happened to look over and saw a woman in the restaurant who was obviously homeless. In a very hushed voice, she was going around asking customers if she could have any of their leftovers, instead of them being thrown away in the trash. But, sadly, Carmen noticed that everyone of those customers was completely ignoring the older, desperate woman. And they actually threw their leftover food away.
Carmen’s heart broke for the woman. Then the woman seemed to disappear. But Carmen vowed to herself that if she saw the woman again before she left, she would certainly give her all of her leftovers. As she was getting ready to leave, she looked around and could not find the woman, so she prepared to throw away the leftovers she had, which amounted to one chicken strip and about five french fries. And just as soon as she moved to throw away the food, she heard a very quiet voice behind her, asking if she had anything left. When Carmen turned around, it was that woman. So Carmen quickly made good on her promise to herself and gave the woman her leftover food. Then she sat with the woman and spoke with her while she ate it. But something was gnawing at Carmen; it just wasn’t right to give her the food she was going to discard. So Carmen bought the woman a full meal of her own.
Says Carmen: “When I ordered the meal, I asked the employee for a huge favor… to please not kick her out as we waited. I could already see the disgust on people’s faces as she sat at the table eating the leftovers I had given her… news flash, people, not all homeless people smell like roses. She was getting ready to get up and leave when I surprised her with this meal… the look on her face said it all. I have never felt something like this… pure, real gratitude.
“That hug she gave me was like a hug I had never felt… those tears she shed were felt deep in my heart. I held her tight and let her let it out. I wasn’t repulsed by it. I just held her. And that is a moment I will never ever forget. So next time you judge a homeless person, think twice… not all of them are homeless because of a drug addiction or because they are lazy.”
Some are homeless simply because of some rough circumstances in life. Also, the next time you’re at a restaurant and you have some leftover food that you’re gonna throw away, take a quick look around… just in case.
