As seen around Chicago

I was witness to a few things over the past few days that have stayed with me and make me ask the question, "What if?" more than a few times.

The first situation: I was driving down Webster on my way home from running a few errands. I spotted what I thought was a bald runner sitting on a front stoop, catching his breath from a tough run. His long lean legs were spread out and his elbows were on his knees and his head was down. As I approached a stop sign and was slowing down, this 30-something guy raised his head and I instantly noticed that he had no eyebrows. I looked down and between his legs was a big puddle of what can only be described as "his lunch". I couldn't take my eyes off this guy. He tried to stand, with the help of the brick wall behind him, and then he leaned over to pick up 3 grocery bags, swaying the entire time as he was completely off-kilter. It took him a few seconds to gain his balance and find the strength to pick up these plastic bags from the ground. I wanted to stop, pull over and offer to carry his bags and lend a hand to help him get to his destination. Just as I was playing my moves in my head as to not offend him in my offer, he slowly walked around the corner and into a building. I guess he was home.

Obviously this young man was going through some kind of treatment to treat some kind of illness. Here I was....just mindlessly running my errands, probably irritated at the traffic and wondering what I'm going to have for dinner....all while this young guy is literally fighting for his life. For a few days after that and even now, I wished I had stopped to help him.

The second situation: I was sitting on a curb waiting for Brian to pick me up from the Metra train that I take to and from work about 3-4x a week. Our meeting spot is a 7-11 convenience store parking lot that is smack dab in the middle of an industrial area of Lincoln Park. As I was listening to an audio book on my iPod and appreciating the fact that the sun was warming my back, a man in his late 30's who was accompanied by a young girl who couldn't be more than 9 or 10, walked in front of me. I noticed that he was opening a box of Banquet fried chicken that he apparently bought in the 7-11. They started eating the frozen chicken right out of the box as they crossed the street. I noticed that they were both pretty dirty and their clothes were stained and worn. The man was eating ferociously. From the time he walked past me to cross the street was no more than 5-10 seconds and by the time he crossed the street, he was already throwing a bare chicken bone into the street while he reached in for another.

If I was a betting woman, I'd bet that this was a homeless father/daughter duo walking back to the spot they called their "home"; probably in an empty warehouse or factory.

Talk about seeing things that tug at your heart strings! Let us all be grateful for our health, the roof over our head and our livelihood.

And if I see someone else in distress, next time I'm going to try to help.