Ride with Me

My journey to the streets included a glimpse of a friendship I never want to take for granted—especially when that friend wrapped our brief moment in the wisdom I still carry with me today. When I pulled away from the curb, I’d just visited a few homeless friends, wondering if someone else needed Gatorade, a pair of socks, or a granola bar.

So I wandered around looking. Just one more. Just one more hug. One more reminder that they matter.

I turned down a street beside a restaurant where folks were eating outside on the patio. That’s when I saw him—a towering tree of a man, a friend for years, who has a home but tends to walk a lot. He swayed slightly as he stopped on the sidewalk.