I was walking toward Radio Shack to get a memory card for my phone when I saw an older gentleman on all fours on the sidewalk. He looked about 60 years old and had a trimmed white beard. It was a hot day and he was wearing shorts, so his knees and hands were on the hard, hot pavement.

He asked me if I could help him up. He looked too heavy for me to lift, but I asked him what had happened. He said his back had seized up. When I asked what I could do he said “Aren’t you a nurse?” When I said I was not, he said “Well, you look like a nurse.” Then he went on to ask me if I had seen any medical shows on T.V.  I thought maybe he was going to tell me how to lift him, but then he started to ramble on about Dr. Kildare and I knew he had lost the plot.

He was still not moving, though, so I asked a man who was passing by if he would help me to lift the older man. The guy took a look at him and said “Sorry. No.” and walked away while talking into his cell phone. I thought that was uncalled for, even if the old man was a bit nuts.

Then I said I couldn’t help him on my own, and he started to ramble on about the hippies in the 60’s and Jimi Hendrix etc. He wasn’t making much sense, but no less than the man on his cell phone. At that point I said I had to go, and I went in to the store. When I came out, he had gone.

When I was driving home, I saw him riding a bicycle and he looked perfectly fine. I was quite relieved to see him up and about. He was carrying black plastic bags that appeared to be full of cans, so he was probably homeless. Even so, he looked quite dapper.