The Old Man with a Smelly T-Shirt

I’ve always been the type of guy to help others in need. I believe in the biblical principle “give and it shall be given back to you” which basically means what goes around comes around. Usually when I help someone in need they show their signs of gratitude, usually with a hug or a “thank you”. I usually don’t stick around for that because that isn’t what I'm looking for. This story I want to share with you is about the time I was a good Samaritan, I did a good deed, a deed no one else at my workplace wanted to do, but I had I felt like I should. However, after doing the good deed I got the most disrespectful “thank you” known to man. I was honestly left speechless after this despicable act , literally the neurons connected to the Broca’s area of my brain couldn’t function. Here’s how it started. I had asked permission from my manger bob to use the restroom (for the sake of publicity, I have changed his name). On the way back from the restroom a man with a torn up Nirvana shirt and baggy shorts grabbed my attention. Just by the stench in his breath, I should have known to run away from this guy. But just like every horror movie ever made, I decided to stick around and speak to this monster. Now I call him a monster not for his appearance but more for his actions, which you will see later on in the story. He came up to me and began to describe his life story and I just listened like I was Dr. Phil or something. I just nodded my head repeatedly and said “wow” or “that’s crazy” while he spoke. He then concluded his life story of being a homeless man that had nothing to eat the whole day, by asking me to give him the burgers our fast food company had thrown away that day. My heart felt true compassion towards this man. I knew where he was coming from because my life growing up in America wasn’t the best either, I was once where he was at… But that’s a story for another time. I decided to buy the man food. I motioned him to come to the register. My manager pulled me to the side and began to warn me. He told me how it wasn’t wise to buy these people food or help them out because some of them are really ungrateful. I explained to him how I wasn’t doing it for the “Thank you” or “gratification”. He tried to convince me again and I ignored him like he was one of those mall kiosks trying to sell you their latest acne face cream. I should have listened because this man fit the perfect description of what my manager described, ungrateful. I told the man to get anything he wanted. I rung up two cheeseburgers for him. I went to the kitchen and told the cooks to make sure all the meat was well done. The homeless man didn’t give me a thanks or anything. Now I know I said I didn’t do it for the “thank you” but I was standing right next to him and he didn’t say a thing. He just continued life with no care in the world. I went back to work after the guy got his cheeseburgers. No “thank you’s” or anything but it was fine, I wasn’t there for that. My manager bob asked me to run out an order to a car waiting in the parking lot. As I was walking through the lobby to go deliver the order, I noticed the homeless man sitting on one of the chairs with nothing in front of him. Not a crumb, not a wrapper, nothing. It put a huge smile on my face. I was under the impression that this man had eaten the meal of his life and he was filled, but oh boy was I wrong. I delivered the order then walked back in to see the guy. I went up to him with a big smile on my face. I asked him how he enjoyed the burger, he immediately replied with a big thank you. My heart rejoiced and my smile got even bigger. But just like every single “I love you” text message a girl has sent me, this “Thank you” followed with a “buttt”. He should have stopped at thank you because the next words that came out of his mouth almost got him killed. The guy said. “Thank you, but, I threw them away”. His life almost ended there. I just couldn’t believe that someone would look me directly in my eyes and say that after I had just done him a good deed. His expression did not change, he was serious. I was his good Samaritan and he spat in my face. He then followed his cursed statement with “I never wanted pickles on my burger”. Every ounce of marrow inside my bones began to tremble. I almost gave him an African mom backhand to his face. One of those backhands my mother used to give me when I used to talk back to her, those things always left me disorientated and almost knocked me out. He had the audacity to say that to me. I left him there sitting and walked over to my manager, who had heard the whole conversation, he chuckled and gave me the “I told you so” look. But yeah that’s how the story ends, learn from this. Never buy a guy in a beat up Nirvana shirt a sandwich and also, if someone offers to help you, it's better to say “no” than to say “yes” and do nothing with what they offer you, That’s just disrespectful.