Tag: homeless guy

Does This Renew or Destroy Your Faith In Humanity?

On By Michel McDonaldIn NewsLeave a comment

homeless man gets boots

I was so touched when I read about the story of a police officer in New York City giving this homeless man socks and a $75 pair of Sketchers boots.  According to police officer Lawrence DePrimo, a two-year veteran of the NYPD, “he had blisters about the size of my hands.”  He felt sorry for the guy so he did a good deed and he paid with it out of his own pocket.  Bravo!

See, I was homeless when I was a teenager and when I was in my early 20’s, so any time I see anyone giving so generously to a homeless person who never asked for anything, it gives me hope.  However, this homeless man, now identified as Jeffrey Hillman had allegedly “sold” or “gave away” his new shoes, according to an article that I read.  Whether he did that or not didn’t diminish the good deed that Lawrence DePrimo did.  I still have faith in humanity.

I am just now finding out that Jeffrey Hillman isn’t homeless.  According to CNN…

“Jeffrey Hillman, who served in the military, is eligible for support through the federal Housing and Urban Development’s Veterans Affairs Support Housing program, Diamond said.

“Thanks to that program, Jeffrey Hillman has a Bronx apartment that has been paid for outright, Diamond said, emphasizing there was no need for the man to “panhandle on the streets to pay rent.” Diamond would not give any details about Jeffrey Hillman’s use of the apartment.”

The thing is, even knowing this “homeless guy” has an apartment, it doesn’t diminish the good deed done by Lawrence DePrimo who had no idea that the man he was helping didn’t need help.  We shouldn’t all lose our faith in humanity just because this homeless guy turned out to be faking being homeless because maybe he gets enough money to pay his rent, but what about his food?  Look at him, he’s skin and bones.  Perhaps he really doesn’t have shoes, I mean, according to the officer, he had blisters about the size of his hands on the bottoms of his feet, so maybe he doesn’t get enough money to get by.

I am not defending him, I’m just saying don’t throw your hands up in the air and say this whole thing was a fraud because the cop was still doing a good deed, and no matter what the outcome is, it was still a good will story and we needed some good news after hurricane Sandy.  Don’t give up on believing in humanity just because the guy who was surprised with a gift wasn’t really homeless.  The cop didn’t know that and he didn’t give him the boots for a publicity stunt, and the homeless man wasn’t expecting to receive any gifts that day.  According to the article on Huffington Post, “He smiled from ear to ear,” DePrimo said. “It was like you gave him a million dollars.”

What I’m really saying is, don’t be so skeptical about everyone because there are still some good people out there in the world doing good deeds.  They say “one apple spoils the barrel” but that doesn’t mean you should give up on everything else from here on out.  I still say that cop deserves a medal for his good deed and I thank him for his service and his gift.

Bike Trail Home?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Now before I get nasty comments on this I would just like to say that at age 17 I was homeless for 10 months, 1.5 months after my 17th birthday all the way until about 1.5 months before my 18th birthday so I know what it’s like being homeless.  That being said here you go…

So I’m riding on the bike path last week and I stop at the Manor St. rest stop which has about 4 cement benches, 1 of them has like a bus stop roof so if it’s raining you can sit in there out of the rain.  2 of them have no cover and those 3 are all in like a half circle (see my bike cam video at the end).  Then the 4th bench is separate from that little half circle, more like across the “street” hehe.

Anyway, so I’m riding the bike path last week (as I said lol) and I go to the stop and it’s dark because the sun hasn’t come up and I see this darkness over by one of the benches.  So I don’t go around the half circle and sit in the middle like I normally would, instead I just pull in on the other side and sit on the bench at the end.  I look over and see a face staring at me.  It’s a homeless guy in a sleeping bag next to the bench but on the ground.  I sat there for my 10-15 minute break and then leave.

Next day he’s not there and then the next time I go there he isn’t there but the sun has already come up and it was the day after Michael Jackson had passed away.  So I go sit down on the bench and as I’m taking off my helmet I can see in my helmet mirror this guy all of a sudden standing like 15 feet away from me, staring at me.  This kinda freaks me out because he wasn’t there when I stopped and when I sat down, almost as if he teleported there lol.

He slowly creeps towards me and is now in front of me and I know that he’s the guy sleeping in the sleeping bag over by the bench and I’m not quite sure I trust him.  He has this scar on his neck from having his throat slashed.  I’m not sure what that was all about but I’m going to give him the benefit of a doubt.  He comes up to me and starts talking about Michael Jackson and I sat there talking to him about all the recent deaths and about how MJ is getting all the attention while Caradine, McMahon and Fawcett get no attention.

So anyway, after about 10-15 minutes I’m ready to go so I said well breaks over and start getting my gear back on, camelbak, gloves, skull cap, helmet, earbud’s and I look in my helmet mirror and he’s back where he was when I first spotted him.  Standing 15 feet away from me, arms folded, staring at me.

The last 2 days (yesterday and today) I could see him in his sleeping bag, I’m leaving really early and so I get there before the sun even has a chance to come up.  But I’ve decided I’m not going to take any chances.  Instead of stopping there and sitting down I’m just gonna go through that tunnel and go about maybe 1/4 of a mile away and rest there.  I’m having to rest standing up now which kinda bites but that’s fine, I’d rather have to stand then worry about having my throat slashed.

Now, as I said above about being homeless, I know what it’s like and not everyone should be judged based on their scars and I don’t want to judge “the content of his character” as Martin Luther King Jr. would say but at the same time I really don’t know this guy and I’m not taking any chances.