What's Their Story?

I have taken a few days off from work this week and have been starting my runs a bit later than the usual dark-thirty a.m. that I normally run. Over the past few days, I have noticed people in different settings and as I run by, I ask myself...What's their story?

I passed a woman with 2 pre-teen daughters sitting at a bus stop waiting for a bus. Why were they taking a bus? Did they not have a car? Was gas too expensive? Maybe they were trying to help both the environment and their wallets at the same time.

Not too far away, I ran past a girl, who couldn't have been any older than 16, with a small child, possibly 2 years old. They were walking down the street. Where were they going so early in the morning? How old is the mother? I must say that she looked very sad and lonely, yet she was taking care of this young child. When I past her, she put a smile on her face and said good morning.

On a later segment of my run, I passed a gentlemen who I have seen many times before. He is homeless and spends the nights on a bench on the side of the road. He has all of his possessions in a home-made cart. I see him wake up at 6:30am, pack up his stuff and head over to a public storage facility, where he spends the day. He always says good morning back to me when I say hello. Why is he homeless? Does he want to find a way out of this situation or does he satisfied with this lifestyle? Some day, I would like to ask him these questions, maybe stop at Starbucks, pick up a couple of cups of coffee and chat with him for a while.

I am sure many of you run past people like this all of the time. Next time, ask yourself...What's their story?

Have a good weekend.