(I originally posted this on my Facebook page, November 9. The guy in the picture is NOT the man in this story.)
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my other interesting encounter dark and early on election day.
I parked at the Y for the dark and early shift, and I noticed a guy with a walker stumbling through the parking lot. I asked him if he was OK, did he need anything, etc. (Yeah, I’m a sucker like that.)
“Do you have a penny to spare?” he asked. “All I need is a penny.”
“A penny? Why do you need a penny?”
“I want to get a cup of coffee at Hardee’s. Their senior coffee is 35 cents, and all I have is 34. I don’t need anything else right now. I’ve got a place to stay, and I’m gettin’ paid this afternoon. I just need a cup of coffee.”
Well, I didn’t have a penny on me. But I remembered my son had left a boatload of change in the truck ashtray before he handed it up. So I went back, emptied the container, and offered it to the guy.
“I don’t know how much is here,” I said. “But go ahead and take it and get yourself a biscuit while you’re at it.”
He reached into the pile of coins in my hand and plucked out one penny.
“That’s all I need right there,” he said. “God bless you, brother.”