Something happened to us the other day that was somewhat disturbing.

As Jaine and I were leaving the Temple Square across from the Mormon Convention Center heading back to our car, we were waiting at an intersection for a walking light to change when we heard a small plaintive feminine voice asking for small change.  The voice was so soft we weren’t sure if we even heard it, but when we heard the voice again, we were compelled to turn around.  We were shocked to see a severely beaten woman standing in front of us asking for small change.  She was about 5 feet tall and had scars on her face (some still with stitches) and purple welts on her forehead.  She was almost in tears and was asking for money so she could try and get her kids back.  We were so shocked by her appearance we at first didn’t know what to do or say.  My first thought was “How could someone in her condition even be on the streets?”  We asked her if she sought help from a shelter and she said she was on a waiting list.  I wasn’t too sure about that, it seems odd that any shelter would turn a person away in her condition.  On appearance she was a very broken person.  At first we hesitated, we simply didn’t know what to do. Jaine and I looked at each other and she opened her purse and gave her a 10 dollar bill.  I said to her “I sincerely hope that your life gets better from now on at this point”.

It was clear she was trying to put her life back together, but maybe through a series of bad life choices and bad luck, she had to resort to panhandling to get her life back on track.  Sadly, 10 dollars wouldn’t even come close to accomplishing that, but it’s a start.  We just hope that her life turns for the better.

When I was 19 years old, I visited New York City and one of the first places I visited was Wall Street.  The first thing I saw was a homeless guy who looked like Santa Claus laying on the steps of the entrance to the stock exchange.  At the very moment I saw him, I witnessed a guy in a 3 piece suit holding a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist literally step over the guy like he wasn't there.  I thought of the incongruity of the scene and how it epitomizes the good and bad of life.  This was another one of those scenes.