Unkempt Jim
by Christiane Gamos
As I look back through the years, I remember my first encounter with a homeless person. Actually, I don't think he told us he was living on the street, but I can't figure out where else he stayed. My husband, Arthur, met him in an all-night diner around 2:00 A.M. I will call him Jim because I can't remember his name at all. Jim asked for a job. Well, we knew how that usually turned out. People ask for a job but don't have skills or track records, so what can anyone offer? Jim didn't even look clean and seemed like he had little education. So, Arthur told him to meet him at the office at 9:00 A.M. Of course, he didn't expect Jim to show up. After working late himself, Arthur purposely overslept. At 9:00, our secretary called to explain that Jim was there for a job interview. Arthur said for Jim to come back at noon, again expecting him not to show. Well, of course, you probably already figured he showed up. So, what was the man offered? Back then, there was a product called Fire Out. It was an aerosol can that extinguished small flames. Jim took two cases of Fire Out with him. I thought we would never see the cases or Jim again. Around 3:00 P.M. I answered Jim's telephone call. He explained that he just sold a whole case at a gas station and asked if he could keep some of the money to eat something. I quickly told him to take what he needed since he would get some as commission anyway. Around 5:00 P.M. Jim called in again and explained that he sold another case and asked to keep some money to buy clothes. Arthur told him that he would take him to a thrift store the next morning and buy him some clothes. Did you notice that we just gave him the cases of Fire Out without any training? The "kid" must have been a natural. Wow! That was nearly 40 years ago. I wish I could find him today.
The end of the story? Of course, I left out a little of this story. It is so sad. Jim was taken back to California by the police since he broke probation by leaving that State. You may be wondering why we didn't check him out. Think back to that time period. We didn't have modern technology. Anyway, why would we care about the man's background? We just gave him a couple cases of Fire Out and didn't expect anything back.
Today, I wish we could have followed up with him and helped him. I learned not to prejudge a person by his appearance. Anyway, "Jim", if you read this, please reply and let me know how you are. I sincerely hope you are doing well.
The end of the story? Of course, I left out a little of this story. It is so sad. Jim was taken back to California by the police since he broke probation by leaving that State. You may be wondering why we didn't check him out. Think back to that time period. We didn't have modern technology. Anyway, why would we care about the man's background? We just gave him a couple cases of Fire Out and didn't expect anything back.
Today, I wish we could have followed up with him and helped him. I learned not to prejudge a person by his appearance. Anyway, "Jim", if you read this, please reply and let me know how you are. I sincerely hope you are doing well.