Not again!

I am so sick of all these

homeless dudes wrecking the place, like
do they not have someplace better to be.
Not if they’re homeless. That is kind of
the point, smart one. Eric’s fingers tapped
on the cash register while he rolled his
eyes. I know what it means to be
homeless, Rich. YEA HOW ELSE WOULD
YOU HAVE MET YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!
Intro: The worst of all deceptions is self-
deception; this quote was said Plato and
was defined as the action or practice of
allowing oneself to believe that a false or
unvalidated feeling about a person is
true. We judge people on a day to day
basis but a lot of the times there is more
to them than what meets the eye, in this
story the main character Erik learns that
appearances can be deceiving and even
the smallest acts of kindness can make
huge heroes out of anyone and that
without kindness we would be Lost by
Jonathan Harper
I’m rolling my cart filled with detergent
and fabric softener out of the stock room.
I’m on tail end of working overnight shift
re-shelving items and taking inventory.
Exhausted is an understatement.

If I'm lucky I get five hours of crummy

day-sleep before working on assignments
for classes. Now all I have to do is re-stock
the laundry goods and return the carts
from the parking lot and I can get back to
that, I have no ill will towards the
homeless but the last thing I want is to
deal with the creepy homeless men
walking around
please don’t be in my aisle. I repeat this
over and over
And there he is.
In my aisle
I go down aisle eight and he is sitting in
the middle of right where I need to be.
Fantastic, no way to get out of this one
He’s surrounded by with at least a dozen
bottles of detergent and fabric softener
open with the lids off. A disheveled
brown jacket hangs off his shoulders
while his khakis sport stains, grease, and
crumbs.
He appears to be in his late sixties with his
thinning hair slicked back from oil and
neglect. Grey and silver hairs hang loosely
from his nose and ears. Cheeks and chin
are covered in stubble.
Simply put the dude looks rough
He’s leaning over and sniffing each of the
bottles and then sniffing an article of
women’s clothing.

The man is clearly out of it

Excuse me sir? He continues his nasal
inspection of our merchandise not even
flinching to acknowledge my presence. I
try addressing him again
SIR, is there something you need!? Once
Again, no reaction.
AHEM. SIR IF YOU DO NOT MIND, I NEED
TO RESTOCK THESE SHELVES IS THERE
ANYTHING I CAN HELP YOU WITH?!
Smell this.
I’m startled by his quick movement and
am left slightly terrified. When a crazy,
dirty, nasty old man holds a pair of
women's undergarments. Your mind
composes a laundry list (no pun
intended) of possible odors. Fortune is
on my side it smells clean.
I don’t smell anything sir.
Smell it again! WHICH one of these
detergents smell like this? I can’t tell. I
take a deep breath. I don’t have the
faintest clue sir. Maybe try the orange
bottle labeled meadow mist. I think that
is the one you’re looking for.
He picks up the bottle and walks away
leaving a tiny village of topless
containers on the floor. No effort to
clean up after himself.
Thanks for shopping with us sir
I head outside to collect the shopping
carts from the corrals.
Just as I’m struggling to push the long
line of carts back to the store, I see the
homeless man
Again
He’s wandering around the parking lot
juggling his bags in his hands. I start to
look down trying to avoid eye contact
with old man.
it’s too late I've made it.
Are you lost sir?
I need to find a black BMW. Have you
seen it?!
Why do you need a high-end car? That’s
kind of suspicious sir
So, I can drive home moron!
Well maybe he isn't homeless. Do you
remember where you parked?
If I did do you think I’d be wandering
around here like this?!
No, perhaps?
No, I don’t know where I parked. I don’t
know what food I need or soap, or
detergent. I'm flying blind over here.
What have you bought before?
I haven't my wife did all the shopping
Would you like me to call her for you?
No
She died two weeks ago
Oh, I'm sorry, if you don’t mind me
asking what happened
It was a stroke. It was sudden.
She did everything for me, she cooked
She cleaned
She bought my clothes and ran the
house
All so I could stay in my office and write
She was all I had and now she is gone
I miss her. I miss the sound of her
shuffling around
I miss her wet towels in the bathroom
I miss her smell
And that is all I want is for the clothes to
smell like her again
I just want to smell her again
But here I am
Lost
He stops and takes a deep breath. I
gently reach for the car keys in his hand.
Pressing down on the alarm button.
A black BMW two rows over starts
flashing its light and honking its horn
Thanks kid, you’re my hero, not a lot of
kids would listen to a crazy old man's
story, here's a twenty
I crumpled the $20 and put it in my
pocket.
We’re not supposed to take tips from
strangers, but I doubt anyone would
believe the crazy guy sniffing detergent
had the means to do so
I watch him load up his car and pull out
of the parking lot
I really hope he’s able to find his way