I came out of Smith\u2019s with my arms and hands full of groceries, including sushi, roasted chicken, beer, and 5 pink roses. A down-and-out man sat on the bench near the grocery and looked up at me. \u201cSpare some change, sir?\u201d I was so laden with my own good fortune that I couldn’t get a hand free to give him anything. \u201cSorry,\u201d I said, \u201cgood luck.\u201d \u201cHave a good day, Sir. May god bless you.\u201d As I walked to the truck, I thought about what I could give him instead of cash. I had a bag of potato chips I had taken on the road but not opened. My fortune is such, I could order fries and save the chips for later. As I put my bounty in the truck and got out the chips, I saw the bag of pistachios. Those are more nutritious, I thought. I grabbed them, too. <\/p>\n
Back at the bench, I proffered the pistachios. \u201cYes,\u201d he said, \u201cI’ll do the best I can.\u201d Perhaps that was in reference to his random assortment of teeth. He could give them to someone else, I thought. I held up the potato chips. \u201cOh, potato chips,\u201d he exclaimed. His face was transformed by joy, his grin huge. I may have beamed as brightly back at the sight of him. \u201cThank you, brother. You have a good week<\/em>.\u201d It was a fitting end to my walkabout on the anniversary of my Mom’s death. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I came out of Smith\u2019s with my arms and hands full of groceries, including sushi, roasted chicken, beer, and 5 pink roses. A down-and-out man sat on the bench near the grocery and looked up at me. \u201cSpare some change, sir?\u201d I was so laden with my own good fortune that I couldn’t get a … Continue reading An exchange of gifts<\/span>