A few weeks ago I was on my dinner break and decided to grab a sandwich from Jersey Mikes before heading back to tech rehearsal for an upcoming show. I pulled into the strip mall where Jersey Mikes is located and parked my car several rows back from the entrance to the restaurant. I was listening to Will Van Dyke and Jeff Talbott's "The Girl Who Ran Away" and Kate Baldwin had just reached my favorite part of the song. I sang along, rolled my windows up and scrambled for my wallet just as another car pulled up and parked next to me.
The song ended, I gathered my things and began to get out of my car just as the lady who had parked next to me came around to her passenger side to get her purse. That awkward thing happened where you try to open your car door just as the person parked next to you tries to open theirs. So, I gestured to her to go ahead, we both laughed, she grabbed her purse and headed through the parking lot towards Jersey Mikes.
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I followed a little ways behind her and as I was walking, I noticed a woman and two little girls cuddled up on a blanket to the right of Jersey Mikes. Their belongings were piled up next to them and I watched as a man walked by and dropped a few bucks and some change into a cup sitting in front of them. The lady who had parked beside me headed their direction too.
She walked up to them and began helping them off of the ground.
The woman and her kids seemed uncertain and hesitant, but the lady grabbed each of them by the hand and pulled them to standing. She gestured for them to come with her. The two little girls got on each side of the woman they were with. I assumed this was their mother and the three of them followed the lady. She guided them into Jersey Mikes.
I stood in the parking lot watching all of this happen and took a moment before going into the restaurant. When I opened the door the woman and two kids were ordering for themselves. I stood in line behind them. Then, the lady who had parked beside me ordered something for herself and paid for all four of them.
I made my order while the four of them were getting their drinks. When I turned around from the cash register, the lady who had parked next to me had set a table for four. The four of them sat down together.
There is nothing like witnessing the love of a stranger. This lady didn't hesitate. She didn't ignore them. She didn't throw them her spare change. She didn't question whether or not these people were actually "homeless or hustlers." She didn't buy them food and send them back to the sidewalk. She had no idea she was being watched and she simply loved others without expecting any credit or anything in return.
