Random Advice from a Homeless Man

When I leave work, I typically exit through the back doors, which open out onto a promenade along the Hudson River. Every day, on my way to the train station, I pass a homeless man who sits on one of the benches along the promenade. Every day, to every person passing by, he repeats his mantra, "Sparealittlechange, please? Sparealittlechange?"

One day, rather than averting my eyes and hurrying past, I looked directly at him and smiled (while hurrying past). Seeing that I wasn't stopping to give him anything, he said, "Have a good day, sweetheart," and I replied, "You too." After that, we started to acknowledge one another on a regular basis.

When the weather got colder, I began to add comments like, "Stay warm!" and "Make sure you get inside soon." Therefore, it was not unusual for me to tell him, a few days ago, "Put on some gloves! Your hands must be freezing."

"Nah, I don't like 'em," he replied. "Too constrictive."

I continued to walk past, when suddenly, out of the blue, he added, "And your husband, get him to root for the Steelers!"

Turning in shock, I smiled and raised my hands in the air. "I'm from Pittsburgh. I'm going to root for the Steelers!"

And then I went home and informed my boyfriend, who is a Cowboys fan, that he is required to root for the Steelers. Because even a homeless man said so.