He took the money and left the loaf of bread

WKYC TV, a station in Ohio reported yesterday that a man with a bat tried to rob a convenience store on Long Island. The man then broke into tears and told the owner that he was only doing this to feed his starving family. The convenience store owner, who I instantly decided must have been like the priest in Les Miserable, told the man that if he never robbed again he would give him $40 and a loaf of bread. The man left the bread and took the money. I am not sure why the man left the bread. My only guess was that he couldn't see how it would help his family. My boyfriend, who is slightly more skeptical than I am, decided that it was all a big hoax because the man only took the money. I like to think better of people, but either way this whole story got me thinking about quite a lot of things.

First of all it made me sad about the state of our country. If people are so frustrated in such a dejected state that they have resorted to robbing stores just to make ends meet then we are not doing what we can to help the people who really need to be helped. My boyfriend's parents decided to help out at their local food pantry when things in the economy started going sour. I feel thought that most people wouldn't even know where to look to help out like this. It's also important to keep your eyes and ears open to people around you. Many people are too proud to ask for help, but you might be able to see a need and just help. We are all hurting right now, but obviously whether or not this man's story is true there are some who are hurting more than others.

The other thing that made me sad was that he left the loaf of bread. Now many of you may be thinking that that loaf of bread was probably not going to help his family out that much, but a loaf of bread can go a long way. For breakfast a loaf of bread can be toast, french toast if you have the luxury of eggs, or a bread pudding if you have the luxury of eggs and milk. For lunch a loaf of bread can be a ham and cheese sandwich, an open faced pizza, or even a peanut butter sandwich. By dinner I bet that loaf of bread would have been gone depending on the size of his family.

We live in such a processed country that I feel like we've forgotten about how a little corn flour and oil and a few scraps of meat or squash feeds people in other cultures. In tough times I always remember my dad's mom. She had 5 children of her own, 2 she took care of on a permanent basis and many others who she helped out whenever there was a need. Their family never had a lot of money, but a bag of rice and beans and some scraps of meat went a long way. My Aunts would tell stories about how if their dad had a tasty cake he might split it with one of them so the other kids didn't know about it and make them split it 7 different ways. I don't know of anyone who understands that kind of enjoyment over little things like this anymore. When did we turn things that should have been for special occasions and treats into common place every day things?

I am not nor have ever starved. I remember telling my parents that I was starrrrrrrrrvvving as a little kid, but I truly never experienced anything more than slight hunger when dinner was late. I hope that man who robbed the convenience store did get his family some food and I hope that they aren't starving anymore. Today I looked into our refrigerator and saw plenty of food. For the first time in a long time I was thankful for all of the food my family had. I hope when you eat your next meal you are thankful for the same thing.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily