ON THANKSGIVING
weekend, I was coming home
_ on the bus from downtown
Vancouver, when I saw a
“woman sitting on another _
‘bus bench.

There was something different
about this woman. She had a shop-
_ping cart full of belongings. I took
‘a closer look, slowly glancing
down at her two mismatched
“gloves. She appeared homeless,
with nowhere to go for
; Thanksgiving, but yet she was still
: smiling. ’ ;

I smiled at the woman and start-
ed to read my book. .

Many people were beginning to
sit down and wait for the bus with
me. I thought nothing of it. Then,
an uptight businesswoman sat down

.”. beside the homeless woman. The

“business woman sat for a moment
‘and quickly got up, moving away
from the homeless person as if she

"was afraid of catching something. .

; The homeless woman slowly
stood up and started to walk away. .

Out of nowhere, a different woman :

“stood up and asked the homeless
lady to stop for a moment. She did.”
This woman took some change
gut of her change purse, handed it
to the homeless lady and wished ,
her.a happy Thanksgiving.
«That act of kindness to another
‘ human being is something you -
don’t see everyday. It touched my
heart. It touched my mind.
~ But it also made me wonder wy
why you don’t see it everyday.
Why did the businesswoman get’
up and move away from the home-
-- less woman? No homeless person
chooses to be this way. Sometimes
“it just happens. People are often
"forced to take a little detour off
life’s path: '
As the homeless woman walked
» off I asked myself why I didn’t dig
into my pocket and give her a dol-
lar or so in change, What was I
going to do with it? Was I going to

oy

save it up for another CD that |
have been “dying” to buy, or maybe
blow it on a pack of bubble gum
for Tuesday's classes? [ don't
remember.

But what I do remember is the
look on the homeless woman's face
when she was wished a happy
Thanksgiving.

1 wonder when the last time I, of

- any of us, have done anything nice

for another human being.

When was the last time [ gave
up my name-brand clothes and set-
tled for something that didn’t say
GAP or GUESS? Have you ever sat
down and taken a look through
your closet and realized that you
don't need half of the things that

. you have, and maybe there is some-

one out there who needs it more?

Christmas is slowly creeping up
on us again. The season of giving.
But how many of us will be giving
toys to the kids who won't be get-
ting many? How many of us -will be
donating food and money tu the
less fortunate? ;

I asked several people if they
will be donating money or food to
the less fortunate this Christmas.

Heather Samson, a Grade 1}
student at Carson Graham, said,
donate ‘food, but only when the

‘Good Wealth people come around.”

Simon Pini, alsoa Carson
Graham student, had a different.
view on things: “My parents do,

‘but I am not giving them my oaly.

income, my allowance.”
One person I spoke to felt that.

». you need to raise your children to

believe that homeless people do not
choose to live this'way. Marilyn
Aldworth wants her children to

‘ grow up to be considerate and car-

ing: “I want them to understand |.
that not everyone lives like us.”
Aldworth does not feel that she
needs to take her children down to
East Hastings Street to see all of
the people that live down there to
prove her point: But, she does

‘encourage her children to give a lit-
«tle of their allowance to help the -

needy: “People should be donating».

«food and money all year round, not

just on the holidays.”
It wouldn’t kill any of us to give.

~ up that really nice sweater. we have .
- been “dying” for, to go ard buy
. some food or toys for people who

don’t have much.

_ So, next time you give that
cashier the $100 for that new pair
of shoes that you don’t really need,
why not go to Save-On-Foods and °
buy $50 worth of food for people

_ who really need it?

Melissa Robson is a Carson’
Graham Grade 11 student enrolled
in Video Production 12 at Leo
Marshall Curriculum Centre.

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