That time when I was mistaken for one of the homeless

I got a call from a friend who needed a ride to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing to have some tests done. The only sticky point is that his tests were scheduled for 1:00 in the morning.

Friends do what friends do. I gave him a ride and waited for him in the waiting area just outside of the Emergency Room and on the "hot" side of the metal detectors.

The sandwiches had been pitched into the trash at the stroke of midnight, 12/08/25. He gave them to me at 1:15 a.m. on 12/08/25

As I was sitting there a man approached me and gave me a bag of food. Then he noticed the hole in the toe of my shoe and started asking staff as they passed "Do you need them shoes" as he pointed at their Hokas.

Frankly, I was touched.

He was either a homeless dude or somebody who was doing outreach for The City Mission...being as it was 10F actual in Downtown Lansing and -3 in outlying areas. 

It could go either way. He was dressed in a newish, puffy coat that went below mid-thigh which is a good setup for a cold night. He was about 45 and skinny. On the flip-side, he talked to himself pretty much the whole time he was near me and he asked if I had a pack of smokes twice.

Maybe he was both. I think you need to be a little touched in the head to do mission work in an inner city.