Not Your Average Homeless Man

Hello sir, my name is Mike. I'm the man that you walk past everyday on the sidewalk. I see you dressed up in your fancy suit and I often wonder why you try so hard to avoid me. I figured it was time I introduced myself. I know that I may look like an unapproachable man, but I promise I don't bite, I would really just like to talk to you.

You see, everyday people walk by me and laugh, point, or hand me money. Usually a few quarters or a dollar or two. For the average homeless man, I guess that's a lot. But for me that's normal. I sit here everyday with a sign in my hand, a cup on the ground and a fake smile on my face. One of the first things people usually do when they see me is laugh at my signs, I guess you can say I'm a funny guy. My mom use to always tell me,"Mike you're gonna be a comedian one day." But nope, she was wrong, because here I am sitting at my corner with a sign in my hand that reads, "The ladies say I'm pretty cute for a homeless guy." And yes, I know what you're thinking. That man isn't cute at all, but hey at least I have a sense of humor. And of course you're wondering, "Why are you sitting there? How did you become homeless? When did everything seem to go downhill?"

Well it's a long story.

It all started on the summer of "89. Mom, dad, and I were going on our first road trip as a family. The plan was to drive to see the Grand Canyon and some other cool monument, but there was a few set backs. Mom and dad had been arguing for the past week about some lady named Sarah. I wish I knew what all the fuss was about, but I wasn't very good at eavesdropping. That might be why my mom always said my hearing wasn't "all the way there", whatever that meant. But like I was saying, who ever that Sarah lady was, my mom must of had a good reason for not liking her.

The road trip started off as a fun little family event, all smiles and good vibes until dad received a message from Sarah. Mom started yelling at dad, but like I said before, my hearing isn't all there, so I heard bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Really Michael, I thought we were past that but I guess not!"

"Mindy calm down, I told you already that I ended things with her."

"Well apparently not, otherwise she wouldn't be texting you."

"I can't control the girl Mindy! I told her to leave me alone, what else do you want?"

From that moment on everything seemed to go down hill. For most of the car ride I heard, Sarah this Sarah that until I finally put on my headphone and tried to tuned them out.

When we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon the arguing stopped. When I stepped outside of the car, I walked up to the side of the canyon and looked down. I felt my mom and dad walk up alongside me and put their arms around me. It was our first trip as a family. That moment lasted for a short while, but of course, a few hours go by and mom and dad are at it again.

Dads phone rang with Sarah's name on it, which pissed my mom off.

"Michael, I just wanted today to be nice for all of us, why did you have to go and ruin that?"

"What, I ruined it?" Dad said. "Mike looks pretty happy to me, that's all that matters."

"Oh my goodness Michael. Look at him, he isn't happy, none of us are!"

With mom and dad's constant arguing, I saw dad's eyes drift from the road. He didn't notice that we were approaching and red light.

"Dad look!" I screamed and I saw us enter the inner section with several cars heading towards us.

By the time he look up it was too late. The car had been hit from both sides and spon out of control. Broken glass from the windows flew on my body as my whole life flashed before my eyes. I thought that was the end.

I blacked out and woke up in the hospital.

"Where's my mom? Where's my dad?" I yelled, but no one answered, so I sat in the hospital bed and waited. Several minutes went by before someone came in to tell me what was going on.

"Mike Tanner." The nurse said, as she looked at the clipboard in her hand and back at me. "I am sorry to inform you that your parents, Michael and Mindy Tanner did not survive the crash."

My head dropped as I began sobbing into my hands.What horrible new for a 11 year old boy to hear.

Years go by as I am tossed in and out of foster homes. I often felt alone as if no one wanted me. Thoughts of suicide came across my mind, but I could never follow through with them. I was a very lonely and depressed child. At the age of 18 I was told it was time for me to be on my own. With being a high school drop out and having zero work experience, where was I to go? I thought of selling drugs just to get by but I couldn't handle the thought of prison. So I joined the service. Day after day I risked my life for this country, until finally one day I was wounded in battle. I remember shots fired back and forth and before you know it, I felt a bullet pierce my lower spin which made me crippled from the waist down. After that I was sent home on medical leave, unable to return to the army.

Now here I am, back on my own once again and unable to provide for myself. The only choice I had was to sit here with a sign in my hand, a cup on the ground, and a fake smile on my face. As you can see, I've struggled for a long time, but every once in awhile I get to tell my story.

I hope I didn't take up too much of your time sir, but I hope the next you see me, you don't think of me as your average homeless man, but as your average human being.