I have this theory...

I think there are people in this world that you are just meant to meet. Even if it's the ex-boyfriend that you (still) hate to this day, when you really think about it, there is something you must have learned from that person. Most of the time we don't realize it until much later but sometimes you instantly know that regardless if that person is in your life for 3 weeks or 3 years, they came into your life for a reason.

Well I met the most amazing homeless man on Sunday. Yes, I know the words "amazing" and "homeless" are not usually in the same sentence (or paragraph) but this man was unlike anyone I've ever met. His name is Butler and he's been on the streets in Galveston for at least 5 years (probably more)...and he could not be happier with his life right now. He just strikes you as a person who would do anything he could to help another person out, even though he clearly doesn't have a lot to his name. He kept describing the "family" that he has in Galveston now, and how lucky he feels because many people living on the street never develop that sort of relationship with other people. Strangely enough he has a son that just graduated from Rice University and a daughter who has been in private school all of her life...it really made me realize that every person has a story and I shouldn't just assume that because he's homeless, he must be an alcoholic/drug addict who has never had a real job in his life. On that note, I didn't ask him why he is homeless (especially because he said he's been married twice?) because by the end of our conversation, I thought it was irrelevant. He was intelligent, articulate, and somehow knew "just by looking at me" that I wanted to be a pediatrician.

Naturally, it's weird that I would have such an in-depth conversation with a homeless person. Well here is how it all happened...I was at Murphy's with a friend having a pre-St. Patty's day beer and in walks a tall, skinny black man wearing a polo shirt and paint-stained khakis. My friend gives him a hug, introduces me, then buys him a beer and a pizza without hesitating. While the aforementioned homeless man is talking to someone else, I get the run down: My friend was walking to his car alone one night after the bars closed & another homeless man (who had been trying to sell him a flower all night) once again asked him for money. My friend told him NO, turned back around, and kept walking...well a few seconds later out of the corner of his eye he saw someone running toward him. It turned out to be the pissed-off homeless guy running at him with a knife. Before my friend could turn around, someone punched the homeless guy in the face and knocked him (and the knife) to the ground. You can probably guess that his savior turned out to be Butler, the (other) homeless man who basically saved his life and then asked for nothing in return. Needless to say, my friend buys him a pizza and a beer whenever he can.