Gargoyles and Superheroes

Yesterday, my sister and I went shopping and we passed a homeless man on the sidewalk asking for money.  We said, "Sorry we don't have any cash," and walked away.  We stopped at the bank and then back on to the street.  The man wasn't there anymore.  He was perched on a raised footing on the side of a building down the street.  As we passed once more he said, "I feel like a superhero." 

I turned around and giggled.  "You look like Batman or Spiderman sitting like that. I want to be a superhero too."  I proceeded to climb up on the other side about 6 feet away from him.  I almost fell on my face.

"Be careful, don't hurt yourself," he said as he leaned out to catch me.  He almost fell as well.

"Right. I'll be careful," I replied with more giggles as my hand touched the ground.  I snorted, "look, we are matching gargoyles." I snorted again.

He sipped his beverage and asked, "Do you want some beer?" Then he held it out to me.

"No thanks," I replied with a laugh looking at my sister.

I couldn't keep my balance for long so I stepped down and said thanks to him.  My sister and I then entered into the dollar store.  We were in the store for about 20 minutes.  When we stepped out, I looked and he was no longer perched on the side of the building.

My sister and I headed back to her place.  Along the way, I spotted him sitting on a sidewalk with his hand out.  I had 75 cents in my pocket when we approached him, he didn't see me because he was talking to someone else.  I leaned over to give him the coins.  I noticed many sores on his hand that were open and raw.  I wanted to touch his hand but decided not too.  I dropped the coins in his palm.  He didn't look at me so I walked away.  Once he realized that coins were in his hand, he turned his head and said, "thanks."  I spun around, smiled and waved goodbye, "Thanks for playing superheroes with me!"  He waved back with a smile.

I was surprised that I climbed up and was playful with him.  Also I was very grateful that he was open to it, he shown concern for my well-being, how he offered his beer, and his overall sense of humour.  Now that was an experience I'll remember.