[shmike]

Originally Posted by HokieDNA01

I was about 100 miles into my 550mile trip to Virginia tech the weekend after the shooting (needed to get away and see the campus). I had a bolt come loose on my Ninja250's shifter and the shifter was about to fall off. Got her pulled over into a waffle house parking lot and met a rough looking older homeless man there. He said he really liked my "bike" and he was traveling by "bike" too. His was a rusty beaten up bicycle with a banana seat. It was packed up with everything he owned and then some, complete with a flashlight tied up as a headlight.

He asked what was wrong as I began to dig under my seat for an allen wrench. I told him I had a bolt loose and he stared to dig all over his bike for tools to help me out. I found the tool I needed in my kit and told him thanks but I got it. He never asked me for a penny. I later met him inside sitting by himself with a glass of water. I asked if I could sit down and buy him a cup of coffee and a chili. He told me he had already had his one meal for the day but after some insisting he agreed. Come to find out he was riding his bicycle from Memphis to somewhere in NC cause he had heard there was some construction jobs out that way. He had been sleeping in a tent along the way and now couldn't continue at night because he flashlight/headlight had burnt out. After talkin for about an hour I told him I would be on my way. He wished me a safe trip and thanks for the meal. I walked across the street to the gas station and picked him up a set of D batteries for his light. Left them on his bike's seat and was on my way.

Between the VT shooting a few days earlier, and meeting this kind homeless man, I realized how much I take/took for granted in life. Life could be taken from you at any point or you could be struggling for your next meal. I'm glad I met that man and I hope he found what he was looking for at his destination.

AWESOME story!