Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

I learned a two things from a 9-year old girl and her Mom on a park bench in the middle of a freezing cold night in Philly on Saturday.

Here’s how it happened.

My wife Donna Donato and I were walking through Rittenhouse Square with friends after dinner.

Donna suddenly squeezed my hand. I assumed she sensed I was drifting from the conversation. I had a lot on my mind including our growing business that was putting pressure on cash flow.

But, it was something else.

Donna was drawing my attention to a little girl sitting on a park bench. She was huddled next to a woman who was leaning slightly to the side with her arms crossed and eyes closed. As I looked over, the girl’s gaze followed us as we passed by.

After dropping off our friends, we headed back. The woman was still in the same position resting her eyes. Trying not to startle them, I got closer to ask if they were OK.

The woman was immediately alert.

We’re fine. Just a little tired.
She seemed careful with her words as if unsure to trust us.

Do you have somewhere to go?

Yes. We just didn’t feel safe there tonight. The overprotective father in me wanted to pry, but it didn’t seem necessary.

We’d like to help.

The woman took a deep breath and a long pause. Swallowing her pride, she thanked us.

As Donna sorted things with the Mother, I turned to the girl.

What’s your name?

Lilly Rose. But my Mom calls me Rosie. Her smile lit up the night.

Rosie pointed out the Barnes & Noble bookstore where she did homework early that day.

This hit harder than expected because our youngest, also named Rosie, is in a safe home and warm bed at the moment.

Cash flow suddenly seemed insignificant.

The encounter made me inspect a belief I was holding onto. I've consciously associated homelessness with drug addiction and mental illness.

So, I went digging.

Apparently, I’m not alone in that assumption. Yet, nearly 35% of homeless are women with children. They’re also the fastest-growing segment.

Experts agree that unaffordable housing is among the biggest contributors.

I wondered, what can average people do? My exuberance died down as I thought about Donna and my obligations including two businesses to run.

Then there’s Rosie, and that smile. And, we’re not average.

Later I was telling a friend who jokingly called me a “Suburbanite”. The skeptic in her thought the woman was running up the hotel bill where they stayed for a few days.

When the invoice came, there were no charges. We encouraged the mother to order food, but she didn’t even buy a bottle of water.

I got a voicemail at 6:50 AM on Monday from the Mother. She was only letting us know Rosie was back at school.

That was the 2nd lesson I learned.

We are more capable that we know. When things seem dire, and we’re not sure where to go, sometimes we just need a little time to catch our breath and sort things out.

Happy Sorting!