A Shower and a Shave

My new friend Eric has made an impact in my life this past weekend. While I was brushing my teeth on our last night together in San Diego, the story he shared had myself feeling very convicted and my teeth very clean because I couldn’t stop listening to him while brushing away for 10 minutes straight.

The lesson he taught me is something that we all know to be true but there are very few of us who actually act upon it.

What is it that is so true?

We should help those in need.

Here is what happened: Eric was 20 years old (this was a while ago), he was broke and in college. We’ve all been there. So he asked his dad to wire him some money to his local Western Union so that he would be able to buy the necessary books and buy groceries. As he left the bank, he noticed a bearded man sitting on the street corner, looking straight down, no sign no nothin’. Eric had seen him before, but never really noticed him. Now for some reason he did, and as soon as he walked past him he had a feeling that he should talk to him. He didn’t know why but he just had to. So he did. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned on the spot, facing the man he said “Hey, I’ve got a meal for you, a shower, toothbrush, and a razor blade you could use, you wanna jump in my car and I could take you to my place?”

The man was bewildered, he didn’t know what to say, he finally spoke and said politely “No thank you, I’m OK” But Eric insisted, and the man accepted his offer. Eric recalls that the man smelled terrible inside the car; “stunk to high heavens” I believe was the language Eric used to describe it.

So they arrive at Eric’s apartment that he shared with two other roommates. They were outside with the neighbors having a Barbecue as Eric and his new friend walked up. Eric introduced him but the homeless man was clearly uncomfortable due to his appearance, Eric sensed this and took the man upstairs to his apartment. He guided the man to his bathroom and showed him where everything was and got out of the way. Eric and his roommates wanted to wait for the man to finish before rejoining the Barbecue. The drifter was in the shower for a long time with it at full-blast heat. Steam was pouring out from underneath the door.

            A moment later he came out to Eric and asked him “Those hair clippers in there, can I use those too?” Eric said of course, the man’s hair was quite long as was his beard. So they sat and waited, the buzzing sound could be heard faintly and the sink turning on and off. After some more time the man steps out and they did not even recognize him. He had trimmed his hair and beard down to a 1” buzz-cut and looked like a real sharp business man! So they asked him to join their meal downstairs and the man began to tell his story. His name was Charlie; he used to be a corporate executive and had a loving wife and child. Unfortunately it all began to crumble away, alcoholism took a hold of him and never let go. Ultimately he became depressed and had gone from having it made, to having no hope and homeless. While telling his story, Eric noticed that he could actually see the corporate man he once was and how Charlie’s demeanor had changed entirely. Charlie then went on to caution all of “you youngsters” to avoid taking the path he did (he became the mentor in the end!). He was a totally changed man in the course of a couple of hours.

            For some reason, the act of cutting off all his ragged hair and his filthy beard, eating some substantial food, taking a hot shower, and having clean clothes had turned Charlie’s life around in a matter of a few moments. It was as if he had washed it all away, his fears and doubts went spiraling down the drain along with the dirt and grime. Charlie then said that since Eric had helped him for seemingly no reason at all he felt like he should reconnect with his brother. All he knew was that he lived in Arizona somewhere, but that was it. So, they were off to the library to check out some archives and phone listings. They looked him up, found him, and Eric gave the man what was left of his “dad” money to pay for bus fare. And that was the last time Eric ever saw Charlie.

Now, as I mentioned — Eric never heard back from Charlie, but I am confident that Eric had changed that man’s life forever. Something as simple as a shave, shower, and a meal can make someone feel worthy again and revive their down-trodden and beat up selves. Maybe he reconnected with his brother and has turned his life around, we can’t be sure. But Eric didn’t do the easy thing and keep walking, the fact that he risked his own safety, and just picked another person up out of the dirt and grime tells me a lot about the kind of man Eric is, and that is a man I will strive to be like.

Thanks Eric,

Clay

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