Warning: A little bit of rambling and ranting ahead.
My grandmother is dying a slow, lingering death in St. Petersburg, Florida and I'm here in Reno, Nevada. Lovely. Though, both my mom and her sister are at granny's bedside for the most part so at least there's that.
I had errands to run today and in the midst of that I saw 2 sets of people in need and a whole lot of sets of people who simply didn't care. The first was a couple from Oregon holding a sign at the exit of a shopping plaza just trying to make their way to Ohio. Their son had just returned from Fallujah after having his right leg blown off and they were told to come see him in the hospital he's been placed in. And wouldn't you know it, the one time they really need to drive cross-country is the one time they have serious car trouble. Something in their minivan blew and cost $1400 to fix, leaving them with practically nothing to leave Reno with as they don't have credit cards and all the money they brought with them was sunk into the van. In the brief time our paths crossed, these people are decent, hardworking folk. To have them tell me that all day they've had people yell at and treat them like scum is absolutely heart-wrenching and mind-blowingly enraging. What's more, when I first saw them I also noticed the guy in front of me turning right had a number of Jesus this and God that stickers all over the back of his truck.
Didn't even glance at the couple next to whom he'd been sitting next to for a minute while waiting to turn right.
I had to go to a nearby store to look for something first, but once I got close enough to get the jist of their sign I decided to swing back afterwards and try to help out. Basically, they need gas money so I hit up a nearby branch of my bank and withdrew a $100; gave them $80 (they've got a long way to drive = lots of gas) of it. While I was leaving the store I needed to go to before I could help them I saw a homeless vet with another sign (never got a good look at it)...standing exactly where I saw him the day before. Once I'd gotten the money out of the ATM, I decided he should get $20 out of what I was already withdrawing.
I broke down (sobbing, not car trouble) while driving north on the freeway towards work (not TO work, but to drop stuff off). The absolute contempt people have for one another. Treating people like they're invisible, or worse, like they're a spittoon. This and my grandmother going slowly was too much. I didn't crash and didn't have any near-misses (that I know of... ), but still it wasn't a fun drive. I was better when I got there and was safe to drive home.
What is it with people A) wearing their religion on their sleeve or car, B) wearing their patriotism on their sleeve or car, C) wearing their religion AND their patriotism on their sleeve or car ... and yet they can't be arsed to help or even care about a stranded family or a homeless veteran?
My grandmother is dying a slow, lingering death in St. Petersburg, Florida and I'm here in Reno, Nevada. Lovely. Though, both my mom and her sister are at granny's bedside for the most part so at least there's that.
I had errands to run today and in the midst of that I saw 2 sets of people in need and a whole lot of sets of people who simply didn't care. The first was a couple from Oregon holding a sign at the exit of a shopping plaza just trying to make their way to Ohio. Their son had just returned from Fallujah after having his right leg blown off and they were told to come see him in the hospital he's been placed in. And wouldn't you know it, the one time they really need to drive cross-country is the one time they have serious car trouble. Something in their minivan blew and cost $1400 to fix, leaving them with practically nothing to leave Reno with as they don't have credit cards and all the money they brought with them was sunk into the van. In the brief time our paths crossed, these people are decent, hardworking folk. To have them tell me that all day they've had people yell at and treat them like scum is absolutely heart-wrenching and mind-blowingly enraging. What's more, when I first saw them I also noticed the guy in front of me turning right had a number of Jesus this and God that stickers all over the back of his truck.
Didn't even glance at the couple next to whom he'd been sitting next to for a minute while waiting to turn right.
I had to go to a nearby store to look for something first, but once I got close enough to get the jist of their sign I decided to swing back afterwards and try to help out. Basically, they need gas money so I hit up a nearby branch of my bank and withdrew a $100; gave them $80 (they've got a long way to drive = lots of gas) of it. While I was leaving the store I needed to go to before I could help them I saw a homeless vet with another sign (never got a good look at it)...standing exactly where I saw him the day before. Once I'd gotten the money out of the ATM, I decided he should get $20 out of what I was already withdrawing.
I broke down (sobbing, not car trouble) while driving north on the freeway towards work (not TO work, but to drop stuff off). The absolute contempt people have for one another. Treating people like they're invisible, or worse, like they're a spittoon. This and my grandmother going slowly was too much. I didn't crash and didn't have any near-misses (that I know of... ), but still it wasn't a fun drive. I was better when I got there and was safe to drive home.
What is it with people A) wearing their religion on their sleeve or car, B) wearing their patriotism on their sleeve or car, C) wearing their religion AND their patriotism on their sleeve or car ... and yet they can't be arsed to help or even care about a stranded family or a homeless veteran?
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