Member-only story
An Unexpected Encounter: A Story of Kindness and Redemption
A Chance Encounter on a Houston Train Leads to an Unexpected Journey of Redemption and Family
I met Sammy in an unusual place. Well, maybe it wasn’t all that unusual, but for Texas it was strange. We met on a train in Houston, Texas. If you know Houston, you know that public transportation isn’t all that accessible or even well-thought out. I was a homeless bum on the street. Sammy was a Jewish doctor working in the Texas Medical Center. Our lives could not have been any more different.
“Having a hard time?” Sammy asked. I just nodded my head and continued to look out of the rainy window.
“You don’t look drunk or high,” he said. “What’s your story?”
I just turned and looked at him. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
After a few moments of chatting Sammy insisted that he had time and wanted to hear my story. He offered to get off the train at the next stop and go buy me a meal. I smelled horribly and was embarrassed. Having not eaten in three days I felt like I almost had to take him up on his offer.
“How did you get this way?” he asked as he took a drink of his bottle of water.
