The Surge

The thing about the homeless kids, at least the older ones, is: they won't wait patiently for someone to do something nice for them. They will wait, but not patiently, and if they see someone getting a good deal, they're going to try to get a part of that good deal, right now. They don't care if the deal actually IS good; they're not going to do any analysis. If it looks good, they want some. Worry later about how good it actually was.

So, when about twenty or so at a time are in front of you, the organizers can say all they want about how they're going to line up by ages, oldest first -- the ones who aren't in front are going to be pushing and shoving to see what's going on up there, what kind of deals are being offered, all of that. They don't want kind words; they want stuff. Anyone else with that attitude, I'd say they were greedy. These kids, I just didn't get that feeling. Even the one kid who swore to me that he hadn't gotten a gift, when he was holding one right behind his back -- I didn't get the feeling he was being greedy. I thought he was just taking advantage of the situation. Get it now, while the getting is good.

I thought that the toys and gifts they had to give away were pretty plentiful, and pretty generous, but, you know? Don't let it be said that the first in line is getting something good, like a remote control car, if you aren't ready to give something equally good to everyone else -- and possibly more. Almost none of the kids wanted the footballs and basketballs they had - yeah, as a second, later gift, maybe, but primary? No way. And the bigger the box, the better. Every time that woman bent down to get another gift from the pile, for me to give to the child in front of me -- in the front of the hydra-headed horde --, I thought: this is just amazing. I'm looking at something truly delightful.

But not enough. And I don't really know what 'enough' is. Just that, somehow, just giving them things isn't enough. Even when I really liked what I saw, it wasn't enough.

I still don't like doing it. It's a lot more fun with calm, quiet kids who mostly just want to say hi to Santa. But, just a little, I found myself feeling for these kids, particularly the ones toward the end of the line. I didn't want them to get the short end of the stick, and I was afraid that they would. And probably did.

And I'll think about that little girl who just wanted a baby doll, and didn't get it.