Melinda Musil dot Com

Yesterday I ate lunch at Mcdonalds.  I had a lot of reasons for that - mostly, I was out running errands and needed to pick up lunch somewhere, and McDonalds was there.  So I bought a meal and found a table in the corner - my favorite place to sit when I’m eating out alone.  It’s a good place for people watching.

Anyway, I got my seat and started munching on my fries.  As I looked around, there was a group at one nearby table that looked odd.  Sitting at the table were an older man, an older woman, and a young girl- presumably a granddaughter and grandparents.  Standing next to the table, talking to them, was a middle aged man who I can only describe as “shaggy”.  He was not overwhelmingly dirty, but his clothes didn’t fit him and were obviously worn out.  He was in bad need of a shave and a haircut.  Clutched in his arm was a worn-out box that presumably contained a Bible (the box had Bible stuff written on it- things like “New International Version” and “study Bible”).  The whole scene looked a bit like “one of these things is not like the other, one of these things does not belong”.

That reminded me of another experience that I had many years ago.  My parents and I were eating dinner at a Boston Market restaurant.  (This was back when we had a Boston Market near my house.  That restaurant closed a long time ago… that tells you how long ago this was!)  We eating our dinner, chatting, and basically minding our own business, when a woman came up and set a beaded, homemade bracelet on our table.  She proceded to set bracelets in front of all the other customers in the restaurant.  Attached to the bracelet was a small tag that read something like, “My name is Jill.  I am a deaf-mute resident of (my city).  My last home burnt down in a fire.  My parents are both deceased.  My son died last year.  My boyfriend left me and my truck broke down.  Please put some money on the table for me, and the bracelet will be yours to keep.”  Obviously this is somewhat exaggerated - I don’t remember exactly what the note said.  But that’s the gist of it.  The woman then made a second circuit of the restaurant, picking up most of the bracelets and what little money had been given to her, and then ran out of the restaurant at about the same time as the employees realized she was bothering their customers.

Anyway, at McDonalds yesterday, the scruffy man stepped away from the grandparents-and-granddaughter after a minute.  Then he walked over to ME and asked me, “Spare a couple dollars, ma’am?”  I shook my head and he walked away.  He walked over to another man and repeated his question.  Soon after, he left the restaurant - I don’t think he ever did get any money.  But, I certainly found it strange to see this man, presumably homeless, panhandling in my local McDonalds.