January 26, 2011

Watching From a Distance

The past several posts have been about the public art campaign kickoff party that took place recently  in  Five Points Park in downtown Sarasota.  I was waiting for the event to start when I noticed this homeless man sitting with his belongings watching from a distance and listening to the sounds of jazz emanating through the park.  Then, the guy on the left, walking down the sidewalk, did something rather unexpected...
Without saying a word, he pulled out his wallet and gave the guy money.  I learned the homeless man's name is David and he's been on the streets for four years.   He said the stranger had been quite generous and he would use the gift to pay for some nights at the Salvation Army.  To me, this scene encapsulates a lot of Sarasota. 

9 comments:

Kathy said...

Generosity and compassion are truly virtues.

kat said...

EVERYBODY shops at Bed, Bath & Beyond, don't they?!? haha In all seriousness though - a heartwarming story :)

cieldequimper said...

I don't do this often enough. Last time I gave a homeless person something to eat that I had just bought at a bakery, he threw it away and asked for money...

Lorraine said...

The homeless man is bundled up pretty good. I guess it's getting quite cold there at night lately, hmm? A nice set of photos. Gets one thinking about many things.

Halcyon said...

A nice story today. It's good to see there are still people with big hearts out there.

Lois said...

It's nice that you were there to capture such a special moment. It really makes a person want to count their blessings.

Leslie D. said...

Hmm yes I always find it moving when people demonstrate random acts of kindness/generosity.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Excellent--warms my heart! :-D

Jack said...

I'll bet this kind of thing happens much more than we realize. People are basically good.