We all have a routine. We all wake up with some sort of idea
of what we are going to be doing that day.
On Tuesday nights on campus we make sandwiches. On average
they are peanut butter and jelly that go into a bag that has been decorated
with pretty designs. We call this weekly act Lesley Delivers. Every Tuesday,
(pretty much) I go out with my fellow classmates and give out sandwiches to the
homeless. It’s something I look forward to and really enjoy doing. It’s a very
active way of helping people. For the most part, we normally only interact with
each other, and the people we are serving. Very rarely do we interact with
random bystanders going about their day. We head out to Harvard square in
Cambridge at around 10 at night so the streets are normally pretty dead.
Normally.
This past Tuesday we were expecting a big snowstorm. It was
cold out and the streets were more packed with bystanders then I was use to. I
found myself bumping into people on our route and surprised at how many people
there were. One this particular route, we stop at the Harvard T stop. There are
usually people there and we stand there for a bit and talk to them. We ask if
they want a sandwich or any of the other items we had with us: hats, a blanket,
or hand warmers. As we stood there, a man walked through us, sort of shoving us
out of the way. While he did this he said “What is this the standing around
committee”
I really want to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I
want to think he was just having a bad day, he wanted to get home and was just
tying to get to the train.
I want to believe that he was just having a bad day and his
comment just came out of frustration of the day and not directed at us. I
really want to believe all that.
But the thing is, for whatever reason he said it. That we
were the standing around committee. That a bunch of young college students who
were feeding the homeless, were just standing around in the cold for fun. We were helping. We were serving. We were helping people. He was not.
I don’t want this to come off like we are all that matters
or something. I don’t want this is even come off like it was even that big of a
deal. He just looked at what was going on, a made a judgment about what he saw
that was not accurate at all. He was just trying to get home, and we were just
trying to help people. I’m sure he got home, and I’m even surer that even
though we didn’t give out many sandwiches that night, we helped
people.
I know that every Tuesday we will continue our service in
helping. I also know that there will be people there and might be wondering
what we are doing. My hope is that the people we encounter see the good we are
doing and not just as "standing around".
-Brittany
