The Good Ol' Bad Ol' Days

A long time ago--so long, it seems like a former life--I was walking around the streets of Rutland, Vermont, broke and thirsty--as usual. It was almost midnight on a cold, windy, winter night--about ten below zero. I spotted a man and woman walking arm-in-arm down the sidewalk toward me. I stopped them and asked the man for a dollar so I could "buy a cup of coffee." When he reached in his wallet and pulled out a buck, a smile crept across my face. I thanked him with the utmost gratitude and ran to the corner convenience store before it closed.