The Homeless Man That Changed My Life

2

August 3, 2012 by thomasjoeakins

Today I was walking to a nearby mom and pop store near my job as I usually do for lunch. In the last week I’ve seen this homeless person sitting under the tree reading his book. The reason I know he is homeless is because he has been wearing the same clothes since the first time I noticed him 4 days ago. He must have been in his late 60’s because his face was wrinkled pretty badly and his hair was salt and peppered.

It’s rare that I see a homeless person reading a book so I decided to start-up a conversation and asked…

“Is that a good book?”

He looked up at me and just stared right through me. It was weird because his eyes were so piercing, they were sky blue and they stood out so much because he had a golden complexion. It’s probably from being out in the sun here in Hawaii.

Then as I was staring at him waiting for his answer his eyes began to water and he said…”Do you know how long it’s been since I had a conversation with anyone?”

I was shocked and didn’t know what to say so I just asked “how long?”

He looked up at me and said “it’s probably been around 30 years; people just assume that I’m homeless because I do drugs, am a alcoholic, or just have mental issues. I’d like to tell you I don’t have any of those issues. I don’t drink, do drugs, or have mental issues I just like to keep to myself.”

I formally introduced myself “My name is ThomasJoe what’s yours?” When he stood up I was shocked because he was really tall about 6 ‘4 and was well-built for a homeless person. He had a strong handshake. He looked right at me and said “my name is Mark Fitzgerald, good to meet you” I had to ask him the question…”So what happened to you? Why are you homeless?” He then proceeded to sit back down on the ground. He phased out for a minute and began to talk.

“I had it all, a great job, my own house, money, and a family. My wife was 29 and my two kids 8 and 4 years old. I was in love with my wife and I adored my kids like you could never imagine!

I was 36 years old when my life turned upside down. My family and I planned a camping trip over the summer. It was a Friday night and I was working late on a project for my company. I told my wife I was going to meet her and the kid’s at the camping grounds which I did. I got there at around 5pm it was a beautiful day. The sun didn’t go down until around 7 pm so when I got there I took my kids down to the beach.”

I had to stop Mark while he was talking because I had to go back to work, I was 10 minutes past my lunch break. I was so upset that I had to leave because he was pouring out his heart. It seemed that he had 30 years of built up emotion. I could feel his passion and his joy when he talked about his family. He spoke so eloquently and had a very soothing voice. It didn’t match the way he looked at all. So before I left to go back to work, I asked if I would see him around again tomorrow because I wanted to hear the rest of his story.

Mark said “Just come and look for me tomorrow and if I’m here I will tell you the rest of my story.”

The next day as I was heading towards the store on my lunch break I saw him. I was worried I would never see him again.

I was excited to see him there under the same tree reading his book as usual. I approached him, sat down and asked if he could tell me the rest of the story. I didn’t even buy any lunch.

I reminded him where he left off…

“When the sun was setting we all sat down on the beach watching the sunset me my wife and two kids. The sky was glowing purple and around the sun was the most beautiful orange that I can’t even describe. We just stared at the sunset in silence and all I was thinking at that moment was how blessed I was.”

Mark just sat their silent for about 2 minutes and I didn’t say anything. I just waited until he was ready to go on with his story, then Mark said…

“After we finished watching the sunset we all went back to our tents. You could see families cooking food on their grills and all the kids running around playing. In Hawaii it’s normal for families to go camping during the summer right? You meet other families and you have a great time together.

On Saturday around 1:00 after lunch I decided to leave for a few hours to finish some work and I told my wife that I would be back before it got dark. I remember my son holding my shirt not wanting me to leave and begging me to take him down to the beach, I told him when I got back we would play all night and go to the beach in the morning. I kissed my wife and kids and went on my way.

That was the last time I ever saw them. I lost them all. My family was taken away from me. All they were trying to do was find me because they were worried. Now they were gone forever.”

As Mark was saying this he started to repeat himself and started to cry. I felt so bad and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t say a word I just put my hand on his shoulder to let him know that I was so sorry for his loss.

I started to think of my family…my kids, my wife, and imagined if they were taken from me what would I do? In a flash! Gone! I could feel his pain but I wouldn’t ever grasp his loss…ever!

Mark started to talk again…“My car broke down that night and I couldn’t contact my wife. Back then we didn’t have cell phones. I was stuck. I was about 10 miles away from the camp site. I tried my hardest to figure out what was wrong with my car. I couldn’t figure it out. It just wouldn’t start. I decided to make a run for the campsite because it was already dark.

As I was running I was thinking about my family. All I wanted to do at that very moment was be with them. I imagined my kids playing with mommy laughing, smiling, mommy tickling them…the kid’s loved when mommy tickled them. I felt so lonely that night running in the dark. I felt like it was taking forever but I just kept running and kept running. Finally when I was almost there I kept thinking of my kids being so happy to see me. I can picture it so clearly. Anytime I would come home from work my two kids would jump all over me. I was greeted like that all the time. When I was almost there I started to walk to catch my breath. I didn’t see anyone by the tent. When I was about 20 feet away I knew they weren’t there. My kids would have been all over me by then.

Then one of the other family members who were camped next to us told me that my wife was worried and took our truck to find me.

My wife and kids went out to look for me that night. They were worried about their daddy. When my wife was driving the car with my kids she somehow went down the wrong road and ended up driving right off the cliff. That’s what happened. I lost everything that night! Everything that I ever lived for was taken away from me.

My life would never be the same. I died with them that night.

Here I am 30 years later, and 66 years old. I live on the beach. I watch the sunset everyday to be close to them. That’s how I survive. That’s my story.”

I will never forget meeting Mark. It has made me think about my life, my family, and everything I live for. Mark…a homeless man changed my life forever.

Now that I know Mark’s story it makes me think of every homeless person I see…what’s their story?

I still see Mark under the tree reading his book whenever I go to lunch and we still hangout. I can honestly say that Mark has made me a better father. I appreciate every moment with my family and will always be reminded by his story, how fragile life is and to cherish every second!