It was a really hot summer's day many years ago. I was on my way to pick up two items at the grocery store.
In those days, I was a frequent visitor to the supermarket because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week's food-shopping at once.
You see, my young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many expenses and a mountain of bills.
I held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed my two young children.
Things were bad -- really bad.
And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and four dollars in my pocket, I was on my way to the supermarket to purchase a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.
The children were hungry and I had to get them something to eat. As I came to a red traffic light, I noticed on my right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.
The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars stopped at the red light.
The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. I noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.
