Oh, and...
After a big scene today with lotsa food, I went out into the world in search of people needing to eat. I walked blocks and blocks, finally finding one lone homeless man, who I had to pretty much convince to take a fresh, still sealed footlong hoagie we didn't use. It was still cold and had all it's freshy goodness inside. He seemed oddly taken aback at my offering, uneasy, maybe even a little untrusting that someone would hand them food. This is kinda how it went down, script-style...
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY
Brennan carries two hoagies and several bags of rolls down the street, in search of someone in need. He spies a homeless man - let's call him FRANK - walking ahead carrying a white trash bag filled with old clothes.
Brennan picks up the pace and starts to walk along side Frank.
BRENNAN
"How ya doin?"
Frank looks at Brennan quizzically, but soon gives half a smile.
FRANK
"Fine...I see you got two footlong hoagies there..."
BRENNAN
"I do. You want one?"
Brennan holds out a hoagie, but Frank waves it off and says...
FRANK
"Nah. Those are yours."
Brennan again waves the hoagie in Frank's direction.
BRENNAN
"No, they're really not. We were shooting a scene for a show, and these are what I had leftover...so I either have throw them away or...
Frank pulls back like "oh, you got to throw them away?" Brennan reads this and replies...
BRENNAN
No...I mean I want you to take them because I don't want them to go to waste.
FRANK
Okay. Whatcha got?
Frank checks out the hoagies: an All-American and a Turkey and Swiss. Brennan continues...
BRENNAN
Take them both.
FRANK
Nah, I only want one...
Brennan slowly nods and hands over the Turkey and Swiss. Frank smiles and takes it. He looks it over, then asks...
FRANK
So, is this cool?
BRENNAN
Yea. Very cool.
FRANK
Okay.
******
So that's how that went down. The weird thing to me was that not only was "Frank" apprehensive in taking food from me, but he also didn't want any extra. Just one. I left thinking that this was crazy. Why wouldn't he take more? I even offered the bags of rolls I was carrying, but he declined them.
The same sort of thing happened earlier at lunch. I was carrying two fresh bags of rolls by the catering truck when a man stopped right in front of me and began to dig in a garbage can for food. I offered him the two bags of rolls and he replied, "I'll just take one."
I was bewildered to say the least. Here was a man digging in the trash for food, but not willing to take all that I was offering him.
I chalk these experiences up to one of two things: either both men didn't want to leave me with nothing for fear that I wouldn't have more to give out to others in need, or to myself; or, that they have become so far removed from individual people offering them anything but a stiff arm outside the confines of a soup kitchen or organized event that "giving" has become a fairy tale to them. Some alien idea that they are suspicious of.
We have to change that.
