Five Little Faces
By Jo Ann
@akalinus (44366)
United States
May 31, 2024 11:15am CST
When I was a kid, we moved briefly to Midland, Texas where my dad got a job. We were sitting down to a meal Our dining table could be seen from the front window.
I noticed five little faces pressed against the window. One had tears streaming down his face. These little ones were hungry. I asked my mom if I could take some food out to them. She got up and closed the blinds, ending the discussion.
I never saw them again but I always remembered them. I wonder what happened to them.
I decided that if I ever saw a hungry child, I would feed them. I made sure my children had plenty to eat and fed many neighbor children as well.
I am proud of my oldest son who has been helping to feed the hungry and homeless at a church for many years. I have also volunteered at feeding centers.
It is the least I can do to make it up to the little ones, the five little faces impressed on my heart so long ago.
Did anything unexpected happen when you were a kid that changed the path of your life?
14 people like this
11 responses
@marguicha (230332)
• Chile
31 May 24
I will not discuss what your mom did. But maybe, in the order of things, that was the push you needed to change your life for the best.
3 people like this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
31 May 24
It made me very sad. Maybe it was because we did not have much to spare. My dad was never the same after he got stuck by lightning and our lives took a downturn after that.
Yes, in memory of those babies, I try to feed others. I'm sure that happened for a reason. I hope I made a difference to someone.
2 people like this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
2 Jun 24
I can't either. We could have made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich plate. Or something, we had just moved in and did not have much groceries. My dad just started the job and was not paid yet. He had a degree in engineering but I'm not sure exactly what that job was.
1 person likes this
@Dena91 (17029)
• United States
1 Jun 24
I am glad that those children pushed you towards helping others in need, especially children in need. And you passed that along to your son.
Watching the dysfunctionally of my parents' marriage and the way they lived when I was a child, I knew I didn't want that lifestyle in any way when I became an adult. By God's grace I have gone in the complete opposite direction of the life that they lived.
2 people like this
@Shivram59 (50131)
• India
5 Jun 24
@akalinus You are so kind and so is your son.I highly appreciate for it.Here some young men collect donations in their group;buy wheat and vegetables with it and prepare food.They distribute the food among the poor who spend their night at a dilapidated house near the railway station.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
9 Jun 24
@Shivram59 I remember looking for a job. It took me into places I would rather not be. There was one with a high wage and many people applying for the job. It was my turn. This old guy asked me if I wanted the job. Heck yes. Then, he said to climb into his lap, put my arms around his neck, and whisper about how I wanted the job. I ran out. I looked at the crowd of women waiting and wondered who he would hire.
1 person likes this
@Shivram59 (50131)
• India
9 Jun 24
@akalinus You are right;but some places are not suitable to you.The atmosphere there is unfriendly and you can't bloom there.
I have experienced it many times while looking for a job.
I have experienced it many times while looking for a job.1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
2 Jun 24
That is quite a story. I can't think of anything. Although something kind of similar to that was during the depression my grandmother walked past a restaurant where my grandfather was inside eating ice cream with his brother and sister. She was sad because they were poor and couldn't buy any. Years later they got married. I am sure he kept her in ice cream...
1 person likes this
@thelme55 (79311)
• Germany
1 Jun 24
OMG! It would hunt me my whole life thinking about those kids. I was once scolded by my sister when I gave money to the children beggars in the city of Manila decades ago. She said that other beggars would follow us seeing me giving money to the children . She was right. I got scared as many were really following us on the streets.
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
31 May 24
What a heartfelt story. I'm glad you are trying to erase the actions of your mother so many years ago. Have a good weekend.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59105)
•
2 Jun 24
Obviously, this incident changed you, and helped shape you in to who you are today. Your mother possibly had some big food security issues, that led her to think she didn't have enough to share? Just some thoughts.
We don't realize when we live through things that happen like this, what type of profound effect that one person's actions, or lack of action at all, can affect us as well as others. You took a bad moment and turned it into a lifetime of sharing. Those 5 little faces...I know you won't ever forget them.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
4 Jun 24
@MarieCoyle I don't think I thought of it until then. Something just snapped in my mind and I knew I could not let it slide.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59105)
•
3 Jun 24
@akalinus
You were a child, too. You were limited in what you could do. Even though that memory will always haunt you, remember that you've helped others because of that day in your past. You may never have been that aware of people needing food at times if that hadn't happened.
1 person likes this
@HaruLoid (1592)
• Philippines
1 Jun 24
Yes, actually.
One unexpected thing that happened to me back when I was a kid was that after I gave money to one of the beggar kids, they suddenly tried to pull me out of the vehicle. Fortunately, my mother was there to stop them from taking me away. I was probably around 4 or 5 years old when that happened.
Because of what happened, I stopped giving money to beggars. I don't want anything that terrifying happen to me again.
1 person likes this
