Upon arriving at my office Wednesday morning, I found this note taped to my door.
Terry and I have been friends for a few years. We met on the street when he approached me offering to do a couple of card tricks. I obliged with a $5 tip. He wowed me and others who gathered with his 1/2 magic, 1/2 stand up routine.
He's never been much of a beggar or panhandler with me. Too proud and independent. Only when really pressed to the edges does he ask for help of any kind. Last Tuesday evening at the end of the day, he stopped to see me to ask for special assistance as the note reflects.
I was busy when he came in, and he was gone when I got free.
This note shook me a bit, as I thought through what the night must have been like for him outside. I had seen him the day before, and finally convinced him to make an appointment to see our staff who could really help him head in a new direction. We talked several times that day, actually to the point of distraction.
As I worried about him on Wednesday morning, he showed up for a cup of coffee! It was a relief to see him.
I asked him if he had made the arrangement with his friend to stay in out of the weather. He told me that he had solved the problem himself. He then went on to tell me how he had found shelter back of a restaurant dumpster. He went into great detail about how he used scrap lumber and tin siding to construct a warm little home that blocked the wind that forced him to bed down around 9 p.m.
"That little house made me happy," he told me. "It was just too cold to stay up, so I went to bed when I finished building it. I got a good night's sleep, Larry!" he exclaimed.
When I commented about my amazement at his creativity and toughness, he simply replied, "Well, Larry, you know me; I'm an entrepreneur at heart."
Well, Terry, that's one way to look at it for sure.
Just one snapshot from a guy I count as a friend. . .and, we're working on finding real housing for him.
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