Personal Narrative: Homeless Man

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It was a cold winter night, as expected during the holidays in New York.
Every Christmas my memories take me back to the day I met my good friend Charlie. It was late and everyday after the restaurant closed I walked to the dumpster and as usual there was Charlie. Charlie was a homeless man who I fed that day, and he would come around every night after to sit outside in the darkness to have incredible conversations. Who would have thought a homeless man would have had an interesting life, but Charlie was not your average homeless man. He encountered a terrible tragedy, the death of his entire family in a car crash. Which led him to his lonely life style. Charlie was the inspiration of my successful business, but I have not seen him since …show more content…

He smiled up at me with his cubby cheeks an angelic face. As I came closer he extended his hand and introduced himself as Eli, the ghost of Christmas past. Before I knew it we were flying above the restaurant that I had just left, but it was different, it was in the past. It was busy and I saw myself walking outside to dump the garbage like every night, and there was Charlie. He was dirty and cold digging through the dumpster and I took him inside and fed him. Charlie became my best friend, he told me his story of how he owned a large tile company, had a beautiful home and great family. Then how the devastating tragedy of his family led to his homeless lifestyle. After some time Charlie taught me everything we needed to start a tile business of our own. He moved in and shared half the profits, until one day he …show more content…

Vince was the ghost of Christmas future. He took me back to the restaurant once again, where an old man was digging in the dumpster. This was getting old! When I looked closer, the old man was me. When I asked what happened, Vince explained that I wasted all my money, my wife and kids left me and I was living in the homeless shelter I had just visited. My lavish selfish life led me to become just like Charlie, who I didn’t bother to look for after he disappeared.
Once I returned to the party at my house, I realized what a terrible person I had been. Charlie was humble and trusting. He made me who I was today, but I never was concerned about where he was or why he disappeared. At that moment I gathered my family with every single present under our tree and went straight to the homeless shelter. The joy in the children’s eyes was enough to make us cry. In the end I was able to locate Charlie’s brother who ironically knew the business as well, and offered him part of my business. My life would never be the same, and every year we promised to return to the homeless

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