"You have to earn your air"

Continued from prior post- "Something to share"

Steve,
Your email about the elderly gentleman really touched me, as I know he has touched you. I'd like to ask if I can put the story on my blog? What's your new friend hoping to do? Is he wanting to live closer to his sons? What does his future hold? Thanks for sharing this with us.
Mic & Rick

Rick and Mic,
A lot has happened since I wrote the email this morning: he has received a nice warm jacket and other clothes, he has a little more money in his pocket for food and he will be living in a home for at least a month. Tonight will be the first time in a very long while that he will be able to shower and sleep warmly and safely. The lady who owns the house is recently divorced, with the house in foreclosure and at least one child. She saw him on a bus bench last night and asked if he needed help. He said no, but she said I know you do because I've seen you around a lot sitting on the bus bench and doing odd jobs. She said she would make a place for him to stay at her house. When she found out he had a nominal budget for housing, she immediately agreed to give her master bedroom and bath to him for a month. When I took him to the house and paid the lady, he was so proud and happy, and he just had to show me the room. So, we have bought some time to formulate a plan and a backup. His belongings consisted of the clothes he had on and obituary articles about his mother and his grandmother.

Kenneth Jackson is 61 years old and does not have a plan for the life he has left. But he and I are talking about that, and I think plan number one will be to get him to Illinois where his sons live. I don't know what the sons will think, but I will talk to them on the phone to see if we can work something out, even if it means providing subsistence pay for his lodging there.

Kenneth is very articulate, humble and newly hopeful, in spite of his circumstances, and I find it a joy to be around him. As you can see, it's already a fairly long and complicated tale, with much more to come. He has a small social network on his side now, so things can only get better. He actually expected he would die on the streets. I would be pleased to have you use it on your blog. If any of us don't feel fortunate in our lives, then we haven't seen enough of the lives many others live and we haven't thought clearly about the subject.

I think my son is right in a way when he says, "You have to earn your air."
Steve

Steve,
I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug. The tears are running from my eyes. I feel so hopeful for his man. He is blessed to have you by his side. And it makes me want to be more thoughtful and caring in the way I treat people.

Thanks for sharing and I hope you let me know how he is doing.
Mic