AmandaOT

Amazing but could be true

So while walking Meili today I ran across a man who was looking for a church. He said he was from Berkeley and had taken up working for a company that sold books and magazines. Apparently it was a traveling company. This company sent him by bus to Pocatello, Idaho, a few placed in Iowa where there was flooding, and Forest Park and Evanston, Illinois. In Evanston he got sick and ended up at Northwestern's hospital. When he got out of the hospital, the social worker attempted to contact his employer, but they didn't answer their phone and pretty much abandoned him. He said someone (I forget who because this story was so out of control it I thought it had to be made up) had a bus ticket to Milwaukee because he has an aunt in Green Bay. However, his aunt can't get to Milwaukee to pick him up so he has been all over town looking for help. He said he was just looking for $20...$12.60 for the extra fare to Green Bay and take the change to buy some food. He said he had been to the police to file a report about his company, but they said they couldn't help him. He said he had been to a couple charity organizations and a few churches but couldn't get any aid. He definitely smelled as if he had been sleeping on the streets, however, was dressed in business casuals and was carrying a briefcase. Showed me his folder with his bus tickets, police report, and hospital discharge papers. I didn't look too closely at the dates on the bus ticket, but it was definitely going to Milwaukee. On the surface the story seemed to check out. He was definitely dressed better than your average homeless man, he had the briefcase, and he had the paperwork to help back up his insane story. Even if this guy was making it up, he obviously needed money more than myself so I gave him $20. Hopefully he doesn't get drunk on it.

posted by amanda @ 5:08 PM