Good things still happen on bad days

Remember Eddie? If not, scroll down a bit. He was the homeless volunteer at the pantry. He made chicken noises whenever we got a delivery of frozen chicken. He liked canned mushrooms. He always grinned and waved at me and could never remember my name, but would still sit down and talk with me about whatever random events were going on.

Eddie came in to the pantry on Wednesday. I didn't get a chance to sit and talk with him, and I felt bad about that. As I left work that night, I thought to myself that I was going to make a point to sit and talk with him every time I saw him. Just because he gets overlooked sometimes. Just because sometimes he's slow and he can't carry much, and so impedes better efficiency when he helps unload the truck. Just because he comes out every single week to help even though he's slow and he can't carry much and he can't stay sober and he sleeps in some guy's hallway-- and he still comes to volunteer at the pantry every week.

But I won't get to sit and talk with Eddie again because he was struck by a car and killed between the time he left the pantry Wednesday afternoon and the time I came in to work on Thursday morning. We're all pretty upset about it. Sr. Joellen is helping the family get his death benefits (he was on public aid) and arrange the funeral. She's so sad, but she smiles.

I took Eddie's coat home with me yesterday. He'd left it here a couple weeks ago and kept forgetting to take it. It seemed someone should take care of his things, so I took it home and washed it. I'll give it to his family at the funeral.

There are so many people overlooked and ignored. It's not right. It's not right.