I think a lot. Actually, I think too much. I always wonder what's going to come around the corner next, and I find myself getting lost in memories of hard times. When I do end up in an endless loop of, "Let's remember that time when such and such bad thing happened", I stop and think about the day that two strangers changed my life.
In the summer of 2002 I was living in Scranton, PA. I was between jobs and didn't have a penny to my name. I hadn't paid my rent in two months, and my landlord had already started the eviction process. I ended up putting everything I owned outside to yardsale. The first person that stopped told me they would give me $40 for everything. Obviously, I took it. I was left with no furniture, only a few clothing items, my basketball, and a pillow. I slept on the floor, curled up into a ball, with a blanket that was given to me by an old lady at the hospital when my appendix ruptured the month before. My fridge was broken, which didn't make a difference, because I couldn't afford food to put in it anyway. Everyday I would walk to the local soup kitchen, and get my free peanut butter & jelly sandwich and bottle of water.
One day, I noticed a stack of magazines and newspapers sitting outside. I didn't have a TV, so I sorted through them looking for a form of entertainment. While reading through a two week old newspaper, I saw an ad for plasma donors. I literally jumped up and down when I read that they paid $20 For plasma.
The next day, I made the almost 4 mile walk to the plasma center. On the way there, I was thinking about what I was going to do with that $20. I planned on getting a Hershey Bar, and a bottle of diet coke. Damn, was I excited with the thought of that!
When I made it into the plasma center, I immediately took notice of the hoards of people already there. I approached the desk and told the receptionist that I was there to sell my plasma, and she gave me a form to fill out. I waited about twenty minutes, and a woman came and called for me to come into the back. She made me sit down and took a look at my arms. As she was pushing and poking my veins with her fingers, she yelled out for a man to come over and take a look. He then started feeling of my arms, then he shook his head no and let out a sigh, "Your veins are no good. They're too small."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means you're not a good candidate to donate plasma. I'm sorry." Then the man walked away, as the lady escorted me out.
I found myself outside, walking slowly down the street. My eyes filled up with tears, and as much as I wanted to hold it in, I couldn't. I started to cry. I was a complete failure. I couldn't find a job, I couldn't pay my rent, hell, I couldn't even sell my plasma.
About halfway home I noticed a man walking in front of me. He had to have been at least 15-20 feet away. His pace slowed, and eventually I was right behind him. Suddenly, without warning, he turned around and said, "Don't worry. Everything will be ok." Then he turned back around and walked off down a side street. Had he seen me crying?? Was that why he said those words to me?
I was almost home when, again, I found myself walking behind another man. At this point my tears had dried, and I was keeping my head down with each step I took. Before I knew it I was right behind him, and again, this other man turned around and said, "Don't worry. Everything will be ok." Before I knew it, he was gone, walking off in a different direction.
I didn't get my Hershey Bar or diet coke that day. I still didn't have a penny to my name. And I was still using the floor as my bed. But you know what? The words those two strangers spoke to me that day had made me feel a million times better. It was as if God put them in my path for the purpose of letting me know that everything would be ok. Times were definitely hard, but within a month I had finally found a job, and the first thing I bought with the money I made was a Hershey Bar and diet Coke. Best tasting Hershey Bar of my life!
