A story about McDonalds

[janlee]

Please read until the end. This is a story I found on another site (Care2Connect has 6 million members and this was on a spirituality group page):

This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end!


I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree.

The last class I had to take was Sociology.

The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called "Smile."

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and do***ent their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning.

It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.

We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden
everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside
of me as I turned to see why they had moved.


As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there
standing behind me were two poor homeless men.

As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling".

His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.

He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford.
(If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.

That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging
my every action.

I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more
breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of
the Grace that we had been given were we able to give.

We are not church goers, but we are believers.

That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand .
I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it.

Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being
part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son,
instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

[norbert]

You made me cry, janlee. You're a very good person. That's what I aim to be like. I go out and share some love now. Thank you for sharing this story.

[trekr5]

what a lovely story :-) thanks for sharing

you're a good hearted person...

[TheColonel]

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that!

[bylto]

I loved every second of that. Very powerful and just fills my heart with love! Thank you for sharing Janlee

[jacmac1]

What a beautiful story! I love your last line so much I am going to use it as my signature line.

[Erock]

Dang. Think maybe you should polarize with love?

Good Story
Erock

[Antiventurecapital]

The mind boggling thing is that someone had to sit down and then compose and type out this sickly pap.



Threads like this should have a sugar overdose warning for people who might be diabetics. This could kill them. Literally.

[janlee]

AVC

U really should get out more, and smell the flowers!!

U seem to worship Money.. fair enuf then... that's ur god...

U don't need to read posts like this because u've got the whole world sorted eh? well, ur world that is... most of u wouldn't want to live in that world...

Most people who have hearts and read that story find tears in them.

But guess its all about the money for u...

bless u anyway

and happy travels on ur path thru life...

(Hope u know u can't take it with u... manna that is...)

janlee

[Antiventurecapital]

You got me wrong.

For the record, the story belongs to a genre of literature called sentimentalism. It's all about inducing tears with sickly sweet stories.

From wiki:

Sentimentalism (literally, appealing to the sentiments), as a literary and political discourse, has occurred much in the literary traditions of all regions in the world, and is central to the traditions of Indian literature, Chinese literature, and Vietnamese literature (such as Ho Xuan Huong).

The term sentimentalism is used in two senses: (1)An overindulgence in emotion, especially the conscious effort to induce emotion in order to enjoy it. (2)An optimistic overemphasis of the goodness of humanity (sensibility), representing in part a reaction against Calvinism, which regarded human nature as depraved.

It's not my cup of tea.

[viola]

I to liked the McDonalds story. I can understand why it brings tears to most eyes, I had to fight with them too. The story was very well written, the experience put very well into words. Nevertheless, I must say that I like the last sentence "LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE", so the rest does not really matter.

[JeremyW]

I was sure that this story was buildiing up to some sort of a joke. Subway is better than Mcdonalds.

[Logicseeker]

I feel like such a jerk but I don't get it? I don't even think about if a person is homeless or not? I know most of the homeless persons in my little city (300 000 persons) by name. I've given them food a thousands of times. I don't know about you but my thoughts when I read this was "was that something to write about" and "why are they using the word UNCONDITIONAL love like it would be harder to love a homeless person?"

[Dani]

If the guy looking after the disabled guy was such a hero, why didn't he go and get a real job where he could provide the guy with an actual roof over his head?

Btw I want a burger too, can one of you guys who are crying show some unconditional love and lend me the change to get one?

[NightOwlNation]

Originally Posted by janlee

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

My objective perspective is freaking out. So here's my honest reaction:

This, to me, feels disingenous. And smacks of ego and a serious lack of compassion. "I did not do this for you." She really needed to say that to this man??? To what end? Intuitively something here is not right (IMHO). If this story is true something is seriously wrong in Oz.

Originally Posted by Dani

If the guy looking after the disabled guy was such a hero, why didn't he go and get a real job where he could provide the guy with an actual roof over his head?...

Dani,

If it's even true, can we assume to know another person's personal story? Can we know what would have to have gone on in a man's life for him to present as this one did, standing there in McDonald's with his friend appearing so needy? What's going on, D?

[Michael Chui]

Personally, my main reaction was, "Why are people thinking that janlee was the person in the story?" It's a story she found on another site, that has been magically certified as true. There are no indications that she is at all aligned with the person in the story, except that she chose to paste it here with minimal commentary.

[AmandaP]

I cried also, but I cry at everything. True it is a beautiful story and a heart warming one, but I can't help but think ' give a man a fish......teach a man to fish'. I think this would have made for a more uplifting story than just a lady who had a few spare bucks and isn't easily offended by smell. Just my opinion

[Angela]

I'll tell you one that really moved me this weekend -- the 16 year old weightlifter who held up a beam (fallen by tornado) long enough for one of his peers to escape, and then was crushed by it.

Grief in deadly tornado's wake / Family mourns loss of weightlifter son after he saved peer

[Antiventurecapital]

I can't help but suspect that the people who take the time to crank out such schmaltz never really do anything in real life to help the homeless.

Maudlin
maud·lin /ˈmɔdlɪn/
–adjective
1. tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.

Schmaltz
Schmaltz /ʃmɑlts, ʃmɔlts/
–noun
1. Informal. exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas.
2. fat or grease, esp. of a chicken.
Also, schmalz.

Source

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Angela

I'll tell you one that really moved me this weekend -- the 16 year old weightlifter who held up a beam (fallen by tornado) long enough for one of his peers to escape, and then was crushed by it.

Grief in deadly tornado's wake / Family mourns loss of weightlifter son after he saved peer

That's a real event.

I doubt that the story in the opening thread actually happened. More likely it was cranked out by the same people who make those awful paintings of small children with huge sad eyes.

[Mitalp]

This is a great story.

i was reading some of the replies to this story and a lot of you need to get out of your own heads. Talk about missing the point, your probably missing the point of life too. Here's the point, of this story and life: to Give! God bless you with true understanding.

[QUOTE=NightOwlNation;47186]My objective perspective is freaking out. So here's my honest reaction:

This, to me, feels disingenous. And smacks of ego and a serious lack of compassion. "I did not do this for you." She really needed to say that to this man??? To what end? Intuitively something here is not right (IMHO). If this story is true something is seriously wrong in Oz.


i agree with you about this nightowl, but i think it can be overlooked due to her act of kindness.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Mitalp

This is a great story.

i was reading some of the replies to this story and a lot of you need to get out of your own heads. Talk about missing the point, your probably missing the point of life too. Here's the point, of this story and life: to Give! God bless you with true understanding.

I spend a lot of time in other people's heads.

But you're missing the point, too. Just because something is heartwarming doesn't mean it teaches the right lesson. Some things can't stand up to scrutiny; that's why they don't provide specific details. But then again, we're not supposed to think, are we?

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

But then again, we're not supposed to think, are we?

Thinking is hard work so most people avoid it.

What else could explain the popularity of the lobotomy box? Think about it objectively for a minute, people waste 4 to 6 hours a day sitting in front of it in order to watch fake people leading the fun social lives the viewer lacks because he's too damned busy watching TV.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Antiventurecapital

Thinking is hard work so most people avoid it.

What else could explain the popularity of the lobotomy box? Think about it objectively for a minute, people waste 4 to 6 hours a day sitting in front of it in order to watch fake people leading the fun social lives the viewer lacks because he's too damned busy watching TV.

Clearly, you haven't read Henry Jenkins or Steven Johnson. Think about it some more. The book you should acquire is "Everything Bad is Good For You"; maybe you've heard of it. It's a pretty short read, but he packs it in fairly well.

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

Clearly, you haven't read Henry Jenkins or Steven Johnson. Think about it some more. The book you should acquire is "Everything Bad is Good For You"; maybe you've heard of it. It's a pretty short read, but he packs it in fairly well.

No I haven't, and think I will pass.

The lobotomy box hurts my brain.

[Dani]

Originally Posted by NightOwlNation

Dani,

If it's even true, can we assume to know another person's personal story? Can we know what would have to have gone on in a man's life for him to present as this one did, standing there in McDonald's with his friend appearing so needy? What's going on, D?

'appearing so needy'. Just for curiousity sake there was a big stink on television in Australia the year before last about how a good beggar can make $500 a day Even a 'homeless' man might not be as 'needy' as he seems.

You are right we don't know the guys case. For all we know he could have been a murderer or thief and the disabled was going to be his next victim after he finished his coffee.

I overreacted to this because it is an obvious attempt to pull peoples heart strings while not actually doing anything productive.

Yay she bought the guy a burger, why does that suddenly justify the existance of god and miracles, and make her a saint?

Why didn't she give him a job or offer to let him clean himself up at her house and give him some new clothes so he could apply for one, and look after the disabled guy for him while he was out looking? Maybe because giving a burger is easier than actually doing something that will change his situation.

Giving the burger actually encourages him to stay as a begger, it does nothing to improve his situation for anything more than a few hours.

If people constantly supported him like that he doesn't have to do anything except lead the disabled guy around like a trophy and look pathetic while people shower him with gifts.

Man that's actually brilliant. I should get into that deal!

It gets up my nose because these 'acts of benevolence' are self defeating and do more harm than good. Yes he got a meal but his self image was reinforced and pushed him further away from being able to not be a beggar.

By buying him the burger the lady made his life harder in the long term, to give herself a little feeling of I'm a good person.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Dani

Yay she bought the guy a burger, why does that suddenly justify the existance of god and miracles, and make her a saint?

Why didn't she give him a job or offer to let him clean himself up at her house and give him some new clothes so he could apply for one, and look after the disabled guy for him while he was out looking? Maybe because giving a burger is easier than actually doing something that will change his situation.

Giving the burger actually encourages him to stay as a begger, it does nothing to improve his situation for anything more than a few hours.

God is a communist. This has been shown again and again in the Bible. I can't think of a single analogy between the Bible and Stalinism that doesn't work. (But I admit I know practically nothing of Russian and other relevant history, so I could very well be completely off-base.)

And everyone knows that's God's Light shines with a green hue. Sky blue is definitely not God. It was probably an air elemental masquerading as a homeless man.

[janlee]

Just for the record, it is not me in the story... i picked it up from another site and put it on here, and it looks like it sure stirred up a hornet's nest!!


I think it's simply about being kind - acts of kindness - who knows the homeless guy might be head of ICI now?

ha ha ha


janlee

[aznandyboi]

Originally Posted by janlee

Just for the record, it is not me in the story... i picked it up from another site and put it on here, and it looks like it sure stirred up a hornet's nest!!


I think it's simply about being kind - acts of kindness - who knows the homeless guy might be head of ICI now?

ha ha ha


janlee

I agree. The only thing that should be looked upon in that story was the act of kindness. Judging whether her action of giving a free meal to the homeless person actually helps him or not defeats the purpose of the story. It might be promoting God a bit throughout but the bottomline is still kindness.

I just don't think the story should be scrutinized as much as it was; almost makes it sound like this story was conjured up by the devil.

[Angela]

Blechhhhhh.