Miss Goody Two Shoes: Self Portrait

This is a self deprecating story about a misguided effort to do what I thought was a good deed at the time and the idea that we often do things that we think are for the benefit of others but are really to make ourselves feel better.

In the heat of August, I saw an elderly man on the side of the road, carrying a black plastic bag of aluminum cans. I pulled over and without much questioning, told him to hop into my car, that I would take him home. He got in and I drove in the direction I had been going, instructing him to tell me when he saw his house. After we had gotten a few miles down the road, I turned and said- This IS the way to your house, right? His response was in Spanish- the only word I understood was "Jacksonville", a town three hours away. Realizing that I had no idea where he lived and that he most likely homeless, I drove him back to the exact spot where I had picked him up- just like you would do with a stray dog that you had found but could not keep. Back by the side of the road, just as I had found him-but with an additional sack of water and food- he waved and smiled as I drove away.

I portray myself, mock heroically, as a Madonna figure in the style of a religious icon that includes Christian, Islamic and Buddhist imagery.