A Handshake

I met with “Joe” yesterday.  He was sitting near the entry to the soup kitchen, and I reached out to shake his right hand.  I hadn’t noticed…until he extended his prostatic hand, a griping device toward me.  So, I asked: “How do we do this?”  He said he usually extends his left hand.”  We talked for a while, and he explained to me how he lost his hand in a work related accident back in the 70’s.  He got a settlement and then squandered the money and became homeless.  But, there was a radiance in his eyes, and he appeared surprisingly content.  I said, “God bless you, brother.”  He replied: “I am very blessed, and I thank you for providing this place to come to.  I don’t come unless I need to, and today I walked all the way from Hamtramck (about 4 hours).  This place is a blessing for so many of us.  Thank you.”  He went on to explain that he has another prosthesis that is shaped like a hand, but he only uses it when he dresses up.  This device is better to defend himself with.  After some more conversation, we exchanged smiles, and I continued on—feeling blessed to have my left hand that had a severe spider bite that made my hand swell and itch for several days. - Br. Bob