Shame On Me

It was around lunchtime today, and a friend and I decided to go outside for a bit to see how hot it was ... trust me when I say that it's nasty sticky humid hot in KC today, the kind of heat and humidity that makes you feel like you're in a sauna the minute you go outside. We went out the employee entrance which is on the back side of our building and were surprised to see a car parked in the small drive close to the door. It was an old, beat-up car ... the kind of car that makes you wonder how it still manages to run. My friend and I immediately noticed two people in the car ... a shirtless man in the driver's seat and a woman in a tank top in the front passenger seat. We didn't recognize the car or the people, so as we walked to the end of the parking lot, we wondered aloud why both the car and the two people were parked in front of our employee door. And I have to be honest ... both of us were more than a little apprehensive as we stole glances over our shoulders to see if they were still there. We ran into another co-worker returning from her walk, and we quickly included her in our conversation.

As the three of us headed back toward our building, my gut was churning and my mind was racing. Should I ask them what they're doing? Should I call the police? What if they have a gun? What if they are murderers? What if they are thieves? What if they are drug dealers or worse yet, what if they are junkies? The closer we got to the car and the better look I got at the man and woman, the harder my brain pulsed ... they were really rough-looking characters. I swiped my fob to open the door for my friends, intending to follow them in the building and let someone else worry about the would-be criminals in the parking lot. And that's when I thought about my dad ... that's when I thought about what he would do ... that's when I thought ... that's when I stopped in my tracks and thought ... what if they need help? That's when I turned around and made my way back to the car and talked to them.

It turned out that their car had overheated and they had pulled behind our building thinking the engine would cool off in the shade. I asked if they needed some water for the engine and they quickly said that would be awesome. I'll spare you the details of our conversation, but I went inside and found an empty Shatto Milk glass bottle, filled it with water, grabbed a couple of cans of cold pop and a couple of bottles of cold water and headed back outside. As the man poured the water into the steaming radiator of the car and the woman thanked me profusely, I noticed the man's back was literally covered in scars ... I noticed the woman was missing several teeth and that her hair was matted and tangled ... I noticed how dirty their hands were and the grime that covered their faces. I stood there in the humid heat with sweat forming on my forehead and I noticed two very different people than I did when I first saw them sitting in their old beat-up car.

Shame on me, friends ... shame on me for judging that young couple the way I did. Shame, shame, shame on me. If anyone knows what it feels like to be judged unfairly, I surely do. And yet, I judged the man and woman based on how they looked and the piece of junk car they were driving. Shame, shame, shame on me ... shame on me. I wish I would have gone back inside and gotten my lunch box and given them what food I had ... I wish I would have grabbed my wallet and given them the few dollars it contained. But I didn't. I gave them pop and water ... I stood there in my coordinated clothes and Converse shoes and watched them pour water into the radiator ... I watched them drive away in the scorching heat. 

Shame on me, my friends ... shame, shame, shame on me.