Too many bad days.
/"Too many bad days" said the former wall street businessman as he sat with his shoulders slumped, melted into that plastic folding chair, on the streets of NYC where he now makes his bed.
Too many bad days had left my friend of nearly 5 years in a void of nothingness that I had never seen in him before...
And this scares me.
The average life expectancy of someone dealing with homelessness is 47 years of age. 47!
Compared to the rest of us that are expected to live to the age of 77, those among us that are lacking a home live an astonishing 30 years less!
Obviously, it's not just the home itself that leads to this large of an age gap.
Living each day with basic dignity, respect, honestly, even a general "hey, how are you?" throughout the day from an acquaintance helps push us through the day and gives most of us hope for the next day.
But, take away all of those even most basic human interactions and replace them with disgust, ridicule, shame, and repetitive failure to obtain what the world tells us we should obtain, and you (and I) are left with 30 years hacked from this life.
So this truth, this reality, is what scares me for my friend.
He's already over 47 years old, but he's fading.
The man that I have known over the years to be full of interesting conversation, knowledgeable and witty humor and hope that carries him through till our next conversation, sat there unable to shake my hand or say hello.
"Too many bad days" are sucking the humanity, joy, and ultimately years of life left on this earth, out of my friend.
And so, I'm sad. I'm stuck repeating this phrase in my head.
Too many bad days. Too many bad days.
My heart breaks, tears fill my eyes. And I pray.
Please stay alive. Please be there tomorrow. God, please send someone else to look past the brokenness and despair. Please send someone that has enough extra joy to share with my lacking friend. Please send a smile, a coffee, even a simple hello. God, please take care of my friend when I can't be there. Thank you. Amen.
Thank you all for loving me while I love others.
Thank you all for reading these stories.
Feel free to share if you think that this might help someone else see better.
Much love my friends. ❤️
Brett