It is Christmas Eve day in our office on 5th Street North in beautiful downtown St. Pete. Aside from the jazz rendition of Silent Night on the radio and the hum of our new printer, there isn’t much difference between this Tuesday and any other. Our eyes dart to a commotion outside as dozens of people run past the window. Is this some kind of impromptu adventure race? Most of them are hardly dressed for it with beanie caps and hoodies and one lady is even jogging with her baby!  Everyone gathers around a man and a boy who are handing out blue envelopes. A pair of young men with dreads are all smiles, dancing away with their blue pieces of paper as an older gentleman looks at the prize in his hands with wide eyes. We ask a middle-aged woman what is in her envelope.

“$20,” she says in awe and holds up the cash. Her eyes are misting over with a small smile, “I really needed this for my medications.” We ask who is doing this and a few from the dispersing crowd point toward the man and boy who have already walked several blocks away, and we follow chase.

It turns out that father and son team John and Gregory do something like this card giveaway every year. They just gave away 32 envelopes each with $20 for a total of 640 bucks!

“Nobody seems to care for them [the homeless].” John says. He wants to help, “Some people who have stopped loving themselves.” John is “amazed” at the number of homeless in our fair city and also stresses the importance of helping all year round, not just Christmas. We ask little Gregory, a healthy and real version of Tiny Tim, why giving matters to him.

“It is good to give to people who don’t have much stuff to help them to survive,” Gregory pips up. The truth is so simple when explained by Gregory. We snap a picture of the duo in front of the Mirror Lake Library, shake both their hands and head back to the office with a spring in our step. The world as a whole may not always be kind, but at least a father and son who walk the streets of the 'Burg are. 

'Tis the season in the Sunshine City and, from our office to you, Happy Holidays!