West Coast Florida Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Homeless man with the voice...
Supposedly it is not a fake video...and the guy was offered a job and a house by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Re: Homeless man with the voice...
I saw his story on the Today Show. I cried. I showed Chris last night, I cried again.
I've given them money before. If they approach me in the parking lot of a store or something I'll give them money If I have it.
flame if you'd like, but that's the way I am.
I Also buy news papers from the people in the medians.
First, Ted Williams's story is lovely. He seems to be a delightful man. I love that he said that "Matt Lauer brings the female out in me!" He's a doll and I really hope that he's able to continue this upward rise and stay sober. It's a tough road.
I also wanted to comment on the comment above. Very few homeless people are frauds, but the people who are get attention.
People who are homeless are human beings who have fallen on (or have always known) really hard times. They have pasts that many of us couldn't possibly imagine... until we find ourselves there one day too. The vast majority are veterans or have been abused, have drug or alcohol addictions, or have been kicked out of their homes as teenagers because they are gay. It's not that the people who are homeless are universally "helpless" (although certainly some are)... more often they are "hopeless." Living on the streets is wretched... and you never know when you could find yourself there, too.
With the exception of the huge numbers of children who are homeless, I am guessing that the majority of the people on the street one day expressed a similar opinion to the one you do above. My mom once found her brilliant, funny, talented and wildly successful former theater teacher living on the streets and never forgot the lesson that it taught her. She's passed it on to me. I give money to the homeless. I buy them lunch. And I've volunteered in battered women's shelters. I will never apologize or feel ashamed for any of that.
I feel incredibly blessed to have the family I do. I spent the last year hunting for a job. I have a Masters Degree, 15 years of experience, a professional wardrobe, a computer to send out resumes, no kids, a vehicle, and - most importantly - an amazing family. I applied for 275 jobs and went on 45 different interviews - often for positions for which I was extremely overqualified before I found something. If I didn't have a loving and supportive family, my story could really be quite different.
I don't blame you for being cautious... I just wanted to point out that often the biggest divide between someone who is homeless and someone who is not is the complete unwillingness of our society to look our fellow human beings in their eyes and try to understand where their lives might have started... and what might have happened for them to wind up where they have.
I wish the Nest had a like feature, but since it doesn't:
I think this is a great story! I really hope he is able to stay sober and turn his life around.
I used to work at a hotel downtown. We had a bakery that stayed open till 1am and we would occasionally get homeless people in there. I would offer them food that we were going to throw out that night, but most of the time they wanted money and scoffed at the food. I guess that's one of the reasons I am so jaded when I see panhandlers. I don't mind giving homeless people food or clothing, but I am hesitant to give them money. I am sorry if they have addictions, but I don't want to contribute to that. I'd rather help out in other ways!
I, like, seriously pink-puffy heart you. I love your response, and I couldn't have ever said it so well.
I agree that a lot of homeless people have stories that we couldn't even begin to imagine. It absolutely breaks my heart that so many are Veterans. For Heaven's Sake, these people fought for our country and they get no respect.
Every time I see the Veterans outside Walmart, or Publix I give money if I have cash on me, sometimes I get cash back if I don't.
I just feel like, I am SO incredibly blessed. I guess I don't know what it's like to struggle, I mean honestly struggle for money, like, not know where my next meal will come from. I don't know what that's like. I think that If I am fortunate enough to have a little extra, then I can help someone who doesn't.
Which is why I bought presents for 2 seperate children for Christmas.
Chris totally does not understand my feelings towards this at all. He refuses to give them money.
I think that sometimes I'm overly compassionate.
My Pastor told a story at church once about how he was somewhere for some youth conference. He was walking down the sidewalk from his hotel to somewhere and a man asked him for money, or something along those lines. Robert, my pastor, only had $100 bill in his wallet. He gave it to the guy. Later that day, or maybe the next day he was thinking to him self what in the world have I done, I gave that guy $100... Long story short, he found the guy again and started talking to him and he was also a Pastor who ended up on the streets and was ministering to kids on the street.
I'm getting all teary just thinking about that story. I'm not pmsing either.
One of my worst memories from middle school was riding the bus and the boys, who wanted to show off for each other and look tough, would yell out at the window to homeless people to "get a job!" I would just cringe and shrink down in my seat, ugh. Without fail, if our bus pulled up near people with signs, some kid would always yell that out.
It's tough because a lot of us are taught from a young age to just avoid eye contact with them, and not give them any money because "who knows what they'll use it for". Sometimes I follow that way of thinking, and sometimes I'll give out some money if I have some handy. I definitely don't judge homeless people because you never know their story. But I hate how mean some people can be... like my own H. If we're driving, and we see someone with a sign, and I make a comment about how sad it is, he's quick to say something like "yeah right, they're just running a scam." So of course I say "you don't know that" and he gets all annoyed at me. He definitely judges people more harshly than I do.
I can't bold your words on my Mac so I took them out of your whole post, but I do agree with this. If a homeless man takes my $2 and buys a beer, that doesn't make him an awful person. Is he supposed to take it to BOA and open an account to make a rent payment? I would hope that the money is going to a cheeseburger, or a huge pile he has saved...or something else. But who really knows? You can't be expected to give to every single homeless person on the street, but sometimes those signs make me cry.