The McAltruistic Stranger

We all have encounters in our life that we shall never forget. I had one in the winter of 2007 that left a big impact on my life. It was the day that made me genuinely believe that there are things that happen in this life that are truly unexplainable in this world.

It was in the middle of January of 2007. My life was just a wreck. My friend had just passed away only two months prior. He had died two days after Thanksgiving due to some heart complications. That was one of the hardest days of my life, especially considering I watched him literally take his last breath. Two months later, I was still living with that image in my mind and grieving. My grief was so bad that I had to seek out professional counseling from Nathan Adelson. Nothing seemed to help. I was doing everything that my counselor had instructed me to do. I was writing in a journal every day. I learned that I can actually write decent poetry; I just have to be depressed to do it well. I was watching movies about loved ones who had passed away, and the grievers find a way to move on. I was listening to music as my counselor had recommended. Nothing was pulling me out of my grieving. To make matters worse, I had received my cell phone bill which was higher than normal, and I simply didn’t have the money to pay it. I just totally felt like giving up after I took a look at my bill. I felt like everything in the world was hopeless.

That night, I drove over to my favorite Catholic chapel in my hometown of Las Vegas, St. Viator. I don’t even know why I ended up there. I just took a drive to get out of the house and had no actual destination in mind. When I got to the crossroads of Flamingo and Eastern, I saw the church on the left. I have always loved the beautiful artwork in that parish. I thought there was a chance that seeing art would cheer me up, so I decided to head over to the church.

While I was sitting down in one of the pews, I noticed the area that had the candles. I had a dollar in my pocket for the donation. So, I got up and went over and lit a candle. I wished that I would start feeling better and that some way, somehow my cell phone issue would get worked out. After I lit the candle and put money in the donation box, I turned around to go sit back down at the pew that I had been sitting at. There was a man sitting in the same spot in which I had been sitting. What was even more weird was that I had not even noticed him come in! I was going to sit in a different pew; however, my jacket was still in the old spot. I walked over to the pew and picked up my jacket. The man smiled at me and said “Hello”. “Hello”, I replied. Then he asked me if I was feeling all right. I normally just tell people that I’m doing just fine when I’m asked that, however since I was not in the right state of mind, I just told him no, I wasn’t. He asked me if there was anything he could do to help me. I told him “Unless you can change the past, then no”. He laughed and said that he couldn’t do that. Then he asked me if I was hungry. I was startled and caught off guard, especially since I kind of was. “I kind of am” was my response. He then asked me if I wanted to join him for a snack at McDonald's, which was just right across the street. I was really puzzled! I didn’t know what to think of the situation. Even though this man was like fifty years older than me, I didn’t know if he was hitting on me, or if he wanted to abduct me. He obviously read the concern on my face because his next comment was “Young lady, I am way too old to try anything. I was just looking for some company is all and it’s only across the street, so we can walk. I don’t even have a car anyway”. I felt better about walking across the street, especially since that is such a busy intersection. If he did try anything, I would be able to scream at the top of my lungs and somebody would see and hear for sure. Sometimes in life we have to go with our instincts. My instinct told me that he was okay. I agreed to walk with him over to McDonald's. As he was standing up, he told me that his name was Michael. I introduced myself and we started out of the church, toward McDonald's, and the oddest encounter of my life!

Since that particular McDonald's has no dining room (There is only a drive-through with a walk-up window and some benches outside) I felt a lot safer as well. I didn’t think he would try anything there with that many people around. We were sitting at one of the benches, eating our burgers and I was telling him a little bit about myself, about how my friend had passed away. Oddly, he didn’t talk very much. He just mostly listened. “I’m sorry to hear about your friend” he had said to me. I knew he was just being kind and I let him know how much I appreciated it. Then he did something that I never expected. He took out his wallet and handed me four 20’s, a five, and three dollars, which was exactly what I needed for the phone bill. At first, I told him that although I highly appreciated it, I could not possibly accept it and that it was too much money. Then he replied “Please! I really want the feeling of helping somebody out. Don’t deprive me of that”. So, I accepted it. He then informed me that he needed to get going and that he had somewhere that he needed to be. I then asked him if I could have his address so that I could send him a money order and pay him back when I would be able to. He said no and that he didn’t want that. He just wanted me to have it for whatever I needed it for. He then put his hat on and told me good-bye and walked off. I never saw that man again.

Even though that was a few years ago, I still, to this day think of that encounter. I have no idea why that man was at that church that day and he just happened to give me exactly what it was that I needed. I will forever remember how it made me feel. I just hope the day will come that I am able to do for someone else what he did for me: give somebody hope again, which is the best gift of all.