Penn Station

It was time to leave town. NY had been wonderful but the time had come to return home. Penn Station was our last stop in NY. From here we would board the train to head south back to NC. Arriving an hour before departure time my wife and i had grabbed some Japanese food-to-go and like many others found a place to sit, on the floor, back against a wall to eat and wait for our "all aboard".

I saw him coming from across the station. He first appeared under the Time Square and 7th Avenue exit sign. Moving slowly, using a cane, with a hamburger, fries and a coke in his hand. I knew his life situation from the moment I saw him.

As he approached where I was sitting I was ready for anything. He smiled as he approached and said "I will only be here a moment". I responded "take your time, rest and enjoy". Then it hit me, the smell I have smelled many times before. The smell of a man who had not bathed in who knows how long. A smell so strong that it is not unreasonable to have to turn and catch your breath. A smell that makes you want to move away. I sat there, beside him, and took it all in. In no way did I want to move. The smell and sight was reality, truth, unfortunate but fact. How or why only he knows his story. I was curious but inclined to just allow him to eat in peace. I wondered if someone would complain, ask security to run him off or say something to him directly but no one did. In fact, most who passed just paid him no attention except to maybe steer away slightly to avoid the smell. It took him about 10 minutes to consume his meal and as simply and quietly as he appeared, he moved on.

i did not really do anything for this man that he will ever remember me for. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but this I do know, at least in this situation, this time, I stopped long enough to see and experience a reality of life that was going on right in front of me. To pause and think before I quickly judge. To at least share a smile and moment of peace with a perfect stranger. To remember what it feels like to slow down and simply care.