What Would Annie Do?

So, last night was date night in Old Town Fredericksburg. After a wonderful meal with a two-for-one coupon at Primavera, we decided to take a walk around downtown and burn some calories. As we passed Castiglia’s, I noticed an older man sitting on a park bench. He had old, worn boots and jeans and looked slightly disheveled. I immediately thought of the message on Sunday about being aware of the needy people around us and wanted to do something for him. Instead, I made excuses and kept walking. After walking most of Princess Anne Street, we turned around and headed back to our car where we had three boxes of leftovers from our dinner. As we neared our Civic, I saw the man again. When we caught up to him, I said hello, and asked if he was interested in some food. He smiled and said, “Oh, no thanks.” At that moment, I looked at his face, and to my horror, and began to think to myself, Oh no….what have I done? He didn’t look nearly as “downtrodden” the closer I got to him. What if he was NOT, in fact, homeless, but rather a history professor at the University? This guy could very likely be employed down the street at one of the local shops. After all, I wear ripped jeans regularly and look rather disheveled myself at times. I pictured him returning home to his wife and telling her the story.