A Nice Pair of Winter Gloves

I've a sizable chip on my shoulder for the issues of poverty and homelessness. (That was code for expect this story to be preachy.) At present I have a whole of $60 dollars to my name, that is if you count what's in my bank account, in my pocket, and in between the cushions. When I say I have nothing to give I really do mean it.

Pittsburgh can be a city almost too beautiful in it's tragedy to look at. At nearly every stop light is someone with a cardboard sign, especially in 2020. Now I'm not a total softhearted fool and I don't toss my spare change at everyone.

A) I can't. See paragraph one.

B) You never know what someone's intentions are.

However, every so often something does strike a cord with me. Whether its the humorous and honest sign that read "I'm not gonna lie, I just want a beer." Or another that read "Anything helps even a smile." Ouch, that one stuck with for several miles, literally.

I've heard it said that anyone with a few dollars to their name can buy their way out of a little guilt. It's a very true statement. Once a few winters ago, a young man approached me outside of an eat n' park and asked if I had any change. I said no and began to walk away when he said "Please, we just need something to eat." I stopped and remembered I had left overs in my hand. Nothing half eaten but all it was was some chips and a slice of pie. I handed it to him. I apologized that it was all there was in the bag. He thanked me and looked like he might start crying. I got to my car and drove away as fast as I could. A few blocks away I pulled over because I was shaking so badly. Even now it's not something I can think about without tearing up myself. I think why that has stuck with me is because that was the one boundary I never had to face growing up. Despite the extreme poverty I lived in at points in my childhood I never recall being hungry or without food. Something not short of a miraculous feat at times on the part of my mother and grandmother. My grandmother once pawned her baby rings for food money. She got twenty dollars for them, and we had pizza that night.

So how does this relate to winter gloves? Like any story worth telling there is a decent amount baggage behind it. When my mom was about ten-years-old, my grandfather's cousin called him in the middle of a winter night. Needing milk for the baby. My grandfather was watching my mom and uncle at the time. He hurried them into his truck and made his way to the store.

Western Pennsylvania can be a lot like Alaska at times. Winter storms come out of no where and they can be treacherous. Unlike Alaska, Western Pennsylvania is also hilly like San Francisco. The combination of these two things has led to the death of people year after year. You always keep a set or two of gloves, clothes, a just in case box, and if possible a spare winter coat. Inevitably you will need these things because there will be a time you get stuck on a snowy hill. Since the store was so close and it was near closing time, my grandfather didn't take these precautions with my mom and uncle. My mom had a coat but no gloves and she was in shorts when they got stuck and were forced to walk. My uncle also had a coat but no hat. My mom got frostbite so bad it was debated at the hospital whether her hands would need to be amputated. Thank God they weren't but they also never grew past the size of a ten-year-old's hands. My uncle's one ear is smaller than the other because of the same thing. It is this cautionary tale why I never leave home without two sets of proper winter gloves.

Sometime ago, not long maybe a month or so, I was at an intersection and as stated there was a small woman standing at the corner with a cardboard sign. I don't remember what the sign said, it honestly didn't matter. All I could focus on was her hands. They were red and raw from the cold and she had the one not holding the sign tucked in her coat sleeve. I honked the horn a few times to get her attention she walked over as I fished around my perpetually messy vehicle. I rolled down the window and handed her the spare pair I'd gotten from the dollar store. She thanked me took the gloves and went back to the corner. Could I have given her five bucks? Maybe. Could I have bought her a lousy beer? Well not from my car, but there is no reason in this world you can't afford to be kind; be it a dollar, a beer, or a nice pair of winter gloves.

Thank you so much for reading my little anecdote. Quick FYI half of all tips for this story will go to feedingamerica.org or you can donate directly to the site. Also check out the YouTube channel Invisible People. They do actual interviews with people who are actively homeless.