Risks?
We were traveling down the Trans Canada and there was a hitchhiker. Of course, I have been told not to pick up hitchhikers so we passed by. As we talked, we realized that this is not a sight you see very often anymore, and it was Christmas Day so there was virtually no traffic. And, he didn't have any mitts and it was cold. I decided we were going to go get him.
Being on divided highway, we had to find a place to turn around. The moment we start going back in the opposite direction, there is about 20 vehicles whizzing past. Frankly, I felt a sense of relief. One of these vehicles would have picked up the hitchhiker. After all, it is really cold out and it is Christmas Day.
A couple of miles later, we saw him and honked to let him know we would be there soon. When we pulled up behind him, he didn't even realize for a minute that a car had stopped.
Only after he was loading his few meager ripped plastic bags could we see how desperate he was. He was almost frozen. He asked for a ride to a city two and a half hours away. He expressed gratitude and said that he was about to pass out from exhaustion. He fell asleep.
Well, actually, he told us a little about his situation and then fell asleep. My partner started asking questions like, "where is your family?" I gently touched my partner's arm and shook my head. Asking Mike questions were inherently judgmental. There was no need for him to tell a story. We were going to give him a ride regardless. After all, he was living the story.
He slept for two and a half hours straight. At times, I felt we should slow down to let him sleep longer. Once, we put on our rear windshield wipers and he woke right up and assumed a fight position. I recognized that hypervigilance and the enhanced startle response. Any victim of trauma knows what that is all about.
When we arrived at his destination, we let him off at the only open business, Tim Horton's and wished him well. He actually looked like a different man after having a small amount of restorative sleep. He was so grateful as he exited leaving the grubbiest finger prints all over our vehicle.
I am not telling this story to make you think that my partner and I are good people. We are good people but we didn't show it when picking up this man. Good people would have done more. Also, I admit I was a little petty when we dropped him off at Tim's. I thought to myself, "I wonder if this is going to end up to be a #Tim'sTrueStory." I actually felt horrible accepting his gratitude when the truth was that I was tired of being silent and wanted to start talking to my partner again.
The Main Street Project have been doing a series about myths of homelessness. They have done a very good job.
The reason I am sharing this story is because I want to talk about the huge risk that was taken that day.
The risk taken by Mike. He was so physically exhausted and cold. He was essentially powerless. Can you even imagine the amount of risk that he took getting into a car with two complete strangers? He was a sitting duck if we had any nefarious intentions. Also, how exhausted must you be to fall asleep and leave yourself even more vulnerable? He took a tremendous risk. But, also, he didn't have much choice. Had we not stopped, he may have been dead by hypothermia. He proposed no threat to us. I am not suggesting that anyone pick-up hitchhikers. However, it is quite important to have all information before making a decision. In this case, the only one taking a risk was the homeless person.
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