Lyle was his name. I have seen him outside my apartment, when I head on home after work. He would be there with his tin cup out in front of him, and people would drop some money into it. I approached him and asked him if he wanted to go grab some dinner, he told me that "I don't think I've gotten enough." While looking into his cup.
I told him it's perfectly fine, and that it's on me. We headed off to Denny's, were seated at a table. He was afraid of ordering something a bit too expensive. I told him not to worry about it, to instead just have a great meal. He went for the T-Bone steak with shrimp, I went for the breakfast omelette. I heard about his life, how he ended up joining the army and went off to Vietnam, all because he got into a fight with an officer. He ended up flying a helicopter, and would pilot the wounded in and out of combat.
He told me how he has 2 kids, who now have kids themselves, they live up north in the Prince George area. He has been in Vancouver for about 2 yrs now, he moved here after his mom died. He has also had a bypass done, so his strength hasn't been the greatest. Which is why work has been tough for him to find. He tells me that he used to repair radio's and tv's, since his army training involved doing some of that. Sadly that business closed, and he was then out of work.
Right now he is waiting to get his pension check, so he can then relax a lot easier, and get off of begging for money on the street. He has made mistakes in the past, alcohol issues, fights, etc. He is trying his best to live his life right, right now. Because of his heart bypass, he has to watch his cholesterol, as well he is very close to becoming diabetic. He seems to be in good spirits, and enjoying his life. He hadn't eaten all day, so he was happy to finally get something in his stomach. Overall it was great dinner, I do wish Lyle all the best!
Total Cost = $40.00
Wow nice one man, fascinating story.
ReplyDeleteI am kind of, near weeping a bit.
ReplyDelete