It's A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird

"Scout, you can never really understand a person unless you see the world from their point of view. Walk around in their shoes and live in their skin."
-Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

The above quote is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It conveys a truth that is very powerful, yet one I find myself easily forgetting. I have three jobs. One of my jobs is delivering pizza. Laugh at you will, but I make $500 or more a week delivering pizza to obnoxious strangers. I've been doing this for awhile now (though I plan to move on soon). When you deliver pizza in a small area for awhile, you get to know some people. There's John the security guard who works at the bank across the street. Everyday he orders a personal pizza to be delivered, and never tips. He always gives exact change. A real cheapskate if ever I saw one.

Then there's Tina who works at the Marriot Hotel on Taylor RD. She always buys a pizza with just one topping and nothing else. Every week she gets either Pepperoni, Sausage, or Ham on her pizza. She tips $5 dollars every time, regardless how long it takes. Once every couple of weeks, I see Jessie at the Barnes & Noble store. This woman is the only Christian I know who orders pizza from us, and we have actually gotten to know each other fairly well. She tells me on a weekly basis of her struggles to talk to her un-saved husband Bill, and I always take time out of my schedule to talk and pray with her. Her manager frowns on us when we pray in public, but I simply replay "Lady, ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you I don't care about making good impressions."

The one person who I hate to see though is Joanne. Joanne is some forty something lady who lives in an apartment complex. She is dying of cancer. She's been fighting it for years, but it looks like that battle is coming to an end, and she's not winning. Whenever she buys pizza, I can tell I'll be seeing her a few days in a row, as she doesn't buy pizza unless her doctor orders her to stay in her house. I asked her out of curiosity why she doesn't go to the hospital, and her simple replay is "I hate hospitals. I'm going die sooner or later, and I don't want to die in a hospital." She only buys small pizza's, sometimes a salad, and she always gives me $20 or more tips. I love getting large tips, but it hurts me to see a good person rotting away because of cancer.

I knew two people in my life who died of cancer. I don't want to know a third person. She's been ordering more frequently now, which means she's been stuck at home more and more these days. My biggest fear will be once the deliveries to her apartment stop coming. Working in a food place is not much fun sometimes. You have to put up with stupid customers, dumb complaints, and the pay is abysmal. Yet, over the last couple of years as a delivery boy, I've met people. Most of the people I meet simply pay me and I leave, but every once in awhile I get to actually know someone. You go there enough times, and you learn something about them. Sometimes they share their view on something going on in their life that helps me realize something in mine.

I saw Joanne today, and she looked so weak. She was using two crutches to walk around, and I get the feeling I won't be seeing her too many more times. She gave me a $30 tip today. That worries me. As I look back on this whole situation, I can't help but wonder about life in general. There are so many people out there. Nice people too. I meet some of them as I delivery, and I wonder why I don't know these people in my personal life. And when I meet these people, I desperately want to see things from their point of view, and understand them, so I can pray for them better. Right now I'm going to work on taking some steps to getting to know people better these days. Hopefully when I take those steps to getting to know someone, they'll see me as more then a snoopy pizza guy, but as a person who wants to get to know them better.

Currently Listening To: Michael W. Smith - The First Decade