The drive to the mall last night was uneventful, holiday music flowed gently from the radio, the defroster bathed us in its warm glow. We were headed to get pictures with Santa. In typical fashion we could not seem to find parking close to the mall.

As we got out of our cars I could see a lady start walking our way. She had a special needs wheelchair with a child in it. The lady approached us and asked if we could spare a dollar for gas, her car had run out and she was trying to get home.

After living in Chicago for a number of years homeless encounters are nothing new to us. It is sort of a given that you will get asked. A few times we offered to buy them or give them food which only served to piss them off.

The led us to believe that in most cases, not all, but most cases the request was not genuine, and we would decline. So there we were, in a parking lot, at night, in light drizzle ice rain, being asked for money by a woman with a disabled child.

We gave her money and commented to ourselves as we walked in how sad it was that we felt skeptical of the genuine nature of her request. I told my wife and mother-in-law that we gave the money hoping that it would really go to what she needed, hoping in our hearts that it was a genuine request.

Had I not had dinner reservations for my wife’s birthday and limited time to get my son’s picture taken, I would have offered to go to the gas station with her and buy her some gas. Asking for a dollar for gas might have gotten you something in the early eighties, but not with gas prices today. If it was food she needed, we were walking distance to the World market, I could have bought her food.

But I didn’t have the time for it, it was cold and she had a disabled child. Thinking back I really wish I had done more, I feel really sorry for her and her child. It really makes you stop and re-assess all the good things you have in your life that you just take for granted every day.