“Dammit it’s cold” I thought as I walked the short distance from my car to Chipotle. The thought instantly evaporated as I walked through the door, relieved there were only three people in line. This is probably the busiest Chipotle in Atlanta and there’s usually a 20 min wait.
I ordered my normal meal and although I rarely get chips, I did this time figuring I’d want them later. A few texts and a burrito bowl later I refilled my tea and headed back to the car.
“Dammit it’s cold” was the first thought that hit me again as I walked out the door. Four steps later a guy said:
“Excuse me, this is my family and we’re staying in our car and really need a hotel room. You don’t have to give me any money, you can just rent a room directly from a hotel.”
I was completely caught off guard -- I thought they were just another family heading to dinner. I looked up and standing behind him were his wife and two kids who I’m guessing are around 6 and 7 years old. He very, very clearly did not want to be asking a stranger for help, but it was also pretty obvious that he was desperate and doing what he needed to do to keep his family warm.
I gave him the last $8 I had in my wallet lamely explaining that I was a little short on cash. He and his wife thanked me and I bumbled back to my car feeling like an idiot for automatically replying, “have a good one” [yeah right] and wondering why I didn’t think to give them the bag of chips I still had in my hand.
Driving off the lot I couldn’t stop thinking about how much it would suck to have to spend all night in a car with your little kids and that I wish I had more cash on me. I tried to put it out of my head with an “oh well” but the next thought that popped up was “dammit it’s cold” which just started me thinking again about them trying to stay warm in a car all night.
The red light turned green and instead of turning left I drove to the bank on the corner and withdrew $100. I drove back over to the parking lot and although it was a good 10 minutes later I spotted them. And that’s when I realized I missed the little one. They have three kids. The 4 year old must have been standing behind his mother when they first approached me.
Rolling down the window I said, “Hey, I found an ATM” and gave them the money. He and his wife thanked me and I automatically replied, “have a good one.” [dammit, I did it again!]
Heading home I started wondering if there was anything else I could have done. If I really busted my ass and sold an extra house last month I could have prepaid rent for them for 6 months. They would have had a home base and some breathing room to try and rebuild. Or I could look up that 100,000 homes thing and volunteer if they’re in Atlanta. Or something.
And that’s when it hit me. This election isn’t about the first female president. It’s not about who is going to do what about Syria. This election is about our shitty, crappy economy where minimum wage isn’t enough to survive on, wage theft is lauded by investors, desperate fathers swallow their pride and ask random strangers for help on a cold night, and politicians throw fundraisers where the going rate for a photo is $2700 (or about 2.5 months of rent for a family with three little kids.)
No one has ever asked me why I’m supporting Bernie Sanders and I’ve never told anyone, but that’s why. We need someone leading this country who wakes up every morning thinking about what s/he can do to make the economy work for people on the bottom rung, and not giving a flying f--k about those who can casually toss $2700 away on a selfie.
Please volunteer or donate to someone who wakes up every morning thinking about what he can do to make the economy work for normal people.
Quick note: Wow, thanks! First time on the rec list. I worked all night, posted before turning in and just woke up. Working through the comments now.