Monday, September 25, 2006

The big man

Last night we had to go to the airport to pick some people up. We had some time to kill before the flight arrived, so we ate at TGIFridays in the airport. The windows of the restaurant look out onto one of the long wide concourse hallways, and you can watch the people walking by. People watching is one of my favorite pastimes. I saw a man exit the restaurant adjacent to us. This guy had to be in excess of 400 pounds. He was pulling one of those popular suitcases on wheels. He was so big that the suitcase just swung along behind him, not able to stay in a straight enough line to keep rolling on it's wheels. I felt bad for this man. He was alone. I thought about how tough life must be for him. Everything must take an extra effort. He struggled just to walk. Did he have to buy three seats on the plane? He would have had trouble even walking down the middle aisles of most planes that I have been on. I am sure that people would turn away from him, rather than consider him disabled and help him. How about going to the bathroom? It would be difficult for him even to fit through the door of the handicapped toliet, much less keep himself clean. I am sad for the people who are the outcasts of our society. They just want to be treated like everyone else. They must think, "Who will love me?" They must be so embassassed when people point, whisper, stare and laugh.

2 comments:

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Thanks for sticking up for me...I'm over halfway there myself and feel like that man sometimes.

Kerri said...

Tuff, you have such a caring heart and compassionate heart!
You're right, of course. We should be tender hearted towards handicapped people and consider how difficult simple things may be for them.