Mark - Anthony

at 7:45 pm, when I walked outside of my hotel, I was planning on going to Quiznos grabbing a quick sandwich and heading back to my room to eat and watch some TV. God however, had other plans.

Quiznos had closed down. Not just closed for the night, but shut its doors completely. My next thought was Lenny's, just a short walk away...nope. Not open at night. So I started walking north on Main street to a place called Napoleon's cafe. Small place with good food and nice people. I walked up at 7:50. The lady met me at the door. "We are closed".

I thought "OK", now where too. I turned and walked south towards Beale - wanting to stay away from all the craziness that goes along with St. Patrick's day, I thought "I will just stop by Walgreen's grab a microwave something and go back to the room. Yep, you guessed it. Closed. It was 8:01. A group of people stepped off the trolley at about the same time I was walking up to Walgreen's. They were talking about what they needed to get from Walgreen's. That is when I heard Anthony.

He said "if you want something better hurry up. They are getting ready to close." The group ignored him and the manager told them the news. "We are closed". I made eye contact with Anthony. He asked me what I was looking for. I told him a store with something to eat. He directed me down the block. Not far he said. Anthony sort of looked homeless. His clothes looked pretty good, but you could tell that he was not a Tourist here for St. Patrick's Day. The group of people did what I have done so many times when dealing with a homeless person---ignore them and hope they go away---. I did not ignore him. I am not sure why I didn't but I talked to him. He asked me where I was from. I told him that I was originally from Memphis but lived in Jackson now. We talked about Memphis and how we had been here his whole life (I later found out, he was 45). He told me to make sure that I stayed on certain streets in downtown to make sure that I was safe. I shook his hand and said nice to meet you, thinking he would go on his way and that would be the last I would ever see of Anthony. He said "I will wait out here for you" and it didn't really register to me that is what he said until I was checking out and noticed that he was waiting outside the door.

I got some vitamin waters, some chips and a sandwich that I could microwave. I went back and got a coke for Anthony after I noticed him waiting outside. Normally, I pay for everything on credit card, and that was my intention. The guy working behind the counter said "I am sorry, but our credit card machine just started acting crazy and was not working". I had to pay with cash. I thought about Anthony as I put the change in my pocket. On the streets of Jackson, we do not give out money, but I thought, I will give him what is left over if I felt it was 'ok' and that he was on the up and up. I had a $5 bill from the change in my pocket when I walked out of the store. I gave Anthony his coke and he was very appreciative. Then he started his story. You know the one that he tells countless times a day, how he is down on his luck and needs...then he stopped. Something changed. I looked him in the eye. I got the feeling, not too many people did that. He told me he was working with a temp agency and recently got in trouble with the law. He needed a place to stay and I knew that there was a shelter 2 blocks over. I told him I would pay his way in. Guess how much it cost? $5.

Anthony then asked me to pray with him. I did. He reached out his hand and I took it. First he took his hat off and put his book bag on the ground. Then it got weird. Anthony then prayed for me. He thanked God that we crossed paths and that we had the opportunity to meet and for people like me that are willing to help. After he said Amen, we started walking towards the hotel. He was talking about God and the people that he puts in your life. I asked him if he knew a guy in a wheelchair named Kevin. He did. Kevin is one of Anthony's good friends. I told Anthony to tell Kevin I said hi. Anthony said that we would tell Kevin that Mark Mincy says hello.

How many times have I been un-willing to help? I can't tell you the number of times that I cross the street to avoid the homeless or street people. Thank you Anthony Merriweather for reminding me...Thank you God for putting Anthony in my path.