My wife and I were driving home from Gonzales, Louisiana. We had been there for a week-end to an old car and rock- n- roll show, then stopped and spent three days in New Orleans. By the way, if you want to have some fun, spend a week-end with seven thousand Cajun folks. Oh my, I love those folks.
Around noon we stopped at a fast food place in Meridian, Mississippi to grab a bite to eat. We had received our order, but before eating I went to the rest room. As I walked by this man, his eyes told me his story. I have seen eyes like his on occasion before. He was sitting alone and you can put your own by-line to the story. I had taken about two bites of my sandwich when I looked over at his table and noticed the only thing he had in front of him was a glass of water. I got up and walked over to his table. His head was bent down and as I spoke to him, he slowly brought his eyes up to meet mine. “Are you hungry?” I asked him. “Uh, yes sir, I am.” I told him to come and get in line with me and order whatever he wanted. I told him my name was Larry and I asked what his name was. He told me his name was Kenneth and from there we began our conversation.
Was he really Kenneth? Was he telling me the truth when he said that his unemployment check had not come in today as it normally did? Had he really moved there from Los Angeles? Was he telling me a story when he said he had once attended Tennessee State in Nashville? There was much more conversation, but was he “Just telling me a story?” Some might ask, “Was he lying to you?”
Was Kenneth being truthful with me or was he just feeding me a line? Who knows how much honesty was in our conversation, but I will tell you something I’d bet my life on. He was being drop dead, Abraham Lincoln honest with me about one thing… he was hungry.
“Are you hungry?” You know, when you think about it, wasn’t that the first question I had asked him? He answered my question very truthfully, no doubt about it. He was honest with me and that was all I really needed to know.
============================================================================================
July 20, 2011
Keep on,
Larry Adamson