And Kept On Walking

Off to the side at the Starbucks on the second floor of the Hongqiao rail station.  I had a bit of time to kill.  Stuck with an early flight in, I’d have nearly three hours here before heading up to Suzhou north station later this morning, from a gate to-be-announced, down below. 

Watching him approach I felt the familiar feeling that one has in New York of San Francisco.  The man approaching, was moving at a different speed.  He was looking at each booth, but he wasn’t looking for a place to sit.  His clothes weren’t notably worse than many of the people who were in the station, but they were old and they were threadbare.  He was asking people for spare change.  Nothing could be more common in a large U.S. rail station, sitting in a quasi public set of benches.  What was odd was that this was such a rare thing in China.  

And I think I would have automatically said something about being sorry that I couldn’t help him today and wished him the best.  As it was, I dug into my pocket and gave him a large note and suggested he get something to eat.  He was appreciative.  But he wasn’t surprised as I thought he might be.  He just made is way back the way he came and kept on walking. 

I wondered, if he had to have some sort of mob protection to beg in this remarkably public environment.  Did he have to give a cut of this to someone or was he free to keep this?   I wondered if didn’t perhaps want to now go get a drink or feed a habit.  If he was hungry he clearly wasn't going to waste what I gave him with the food at Starbucks. Rather, he just looked like nothing had gone his way for a while and he was deeply, perennially, in-need.  I hope he has a better day going forward, than he did starting out, though I doubt it. 

Wednesday, 12/12/18