If you were like most of Boston yesterday you took to the streets to celebrate the Celtics' tremendous win over the Lakers. Thousands of people lined up on the parade route, climbing upon whatever they saw so that they had a chance to see their beloved Celtics players.
I work right downtown on Tremont Street and it is always fun to see the crowds. The excitement from the crowd is amazing and can be heard on every floor of my building. Sometimes the crowd even waves back at me which kind of makes me feel like a celebrity. Okay not really, but it's fun to join in the enthusiasm.
There seemed to be a message of goodwill throughout the crowd. Strangers high-fiving each other, everyone proud of their basketball team for claiming THE title.
So with all this jubilation going on I was surprised to learn from one of the homeless men near my work named "Mark" that he doesn't get any more money from panhandling on days like today versus any other typical day, even though there are thousands more people in Boston.
Over the years I have worked at my current job I have taken time to get to know some of the homeless people that inhabit the downtown area of Boston, such as Mark.
Mark is a great guy who happened upon some unfortunate circumstances which put him in the position he currently is in. However he is always nice to everyone who walks by him, talks to me about whats going on and makes me smile early in the morning as I head into my work, not an easy task to do, I might add.
I know I am not the only one who talks to Mark, sometimes I hear coworkers talk about stories they hear from Mark. He obviously has touched the lives of many people and we all try to do our part to help him out in his current situation.
So on behalf of Mark and every other homeless person I ask next time you really want to spread the love when there IS another championship, remember to help those less fortunate around you. Give your spare change to those who could use it. We truly can be a town which every other town should be modeled after if in our moment of glory we help out.
Photo was taken out of the window at my work when the parade got started at the Boston Garden.
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