Homeless encounter in Pioneer Square

Jason and I were in Pioneer Square on Wednesday evening. For those of you not familiar with Pioneer Square in Seattle, it's one of the oldest parts of downtown with some definite rough edges. Let's just say that during the day, no worries, however you will not find me walking around that neighborhood at night. Homeless people gravitate toward this area because of the different missions there that offer food and shelter. So expect to run into a few colorful characters when you're there. Normally, I walk past them without even giving them a look, but on Wednesday, I had a unique experience. We parked our car in a paid parking lot because we were running late for a photo shoot and didn't have time to search for street parking. As we walked toward the pay booth, this tall lanky man walked over to us and offered us some assistance. You could tell he was a 'local'. He suggested that we park on the street to save a few. Asked us where we were from. Simple things. Like I said, we were running late and didn't know where this waterfall park was that we were supposed to meet our client, so I asked him if he knew where it was. He said not only did he know where it was, but he'd be more than happy to show us the way. My knee jerk reaction was to decline, but I decided that it was ok. Should I judge him because of the way he looked or spoke? He was just being a nice guy after all.

As we walked, he introduced himself to us as Lorenzo, told a few jokes, none of which I actually understood because of his thick slang and escorted us about a block to the place we were looking for. He had a tip cup in his hand the whole time, but was quick to say that he tries to be nice to folks and offer them help with the hopes that they will tip him for his services. Sure, he expected it. And had we not tipped him, I don't know what he would have done, but there was no need to go there. He was kind to us, so we threw him a few dollars.

Not ten minutes later, another panhandler walked by and asked us for some change. When we said no, he started rambling on about how he's been hustling all day with no luck. Will I reward someone being a nuisance? Never! But if someone does a good deed on my behalf and has a need that I can exchange in return, it is my pleasure to help out.

I believe that God puts people in our lives to teach us a lesson. Thank you Lorenzo for being our teacher.