Why?

Why? why? why? I heard a lot of that today; we toured Stonehenge. We had more of those great tourist audio guides and after almost every bit of information the little British voice would say something along the lines of "But the question remains... Why?" Well, nobody knows... but we do know that Stonehenge means hanging stones and lots of other fun trivia about the place. After Stonehenge we went to hang out in Salisbury where we went to the Cathedral, which happens to be the tallest one in England. Salisbury Cathedral is also home to one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. It was pretty cool to see but regrettably I couldn't snap a photo of it. After we finished exploring the Cathedral we made our way to a famous pub called Haunch of Venison. It was in this very pub that Churchill and Eisenhower met to make plans for D-day. I thought that was pretty cool. It's just amazing how much history we traipse across here. After dinner (back in London) we decided to search out Foyle's, the largest bookstore in Europe. It was a book lover's dream. Five stories packed wall to wall with every sort of book imaginable. I left with the British version of Harry Potter translated to Latin. That's right Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis. It was translated by a latin scholar living in Windsor. After we left the bookstore my pal Bo wanted to check out the Covent Gardens, he didn't know what was there and we all agreed to go simply for the reason that our professors said it was neat. As we were wandering around we were approached by a homeless man. He said he was only 60 pence short of a cheeseburger at McDonalds. For a split second I think we were all stumped, searching our minds for the best reaction. All of us except for my friend Emily, who cheerfully responded that she didn't have the change but would take him to the Subway down the street if he'd like. The look that came over the man's face was pure shock followed by a broad smile and acceptance of her offer. As we stood in line at Subway we learned that his name was Tom and that he'd been living in London for 50 years. Tom was very interested to hear about America and especially Texas. He couldn't believe he was meeting people from "real cowboy country". Once it was time for Tom to order he had no clue how to and we had to help. I've never seen a man so awed by sandwich options or so grateful for anything. I thought we was going to cry as he thanked Emily. Meeting him really made me think. It's ridiculous... I know... that I would have to come all the way to London to realize how blessed I am. I mean I'm surrounded by the homeless in Waco but I'd never spoken to any of them. I guess I just learned to look the other way, then donate to Mission Waco and let them worry about it; I suppose I just never realllllly mulled it over. And you know the strangest part? Tom thought himself lucky. Lucky to live in London rather than somewhere hotter, lucky to be healthy enough to get around, and lucky to have a sandwich in his hand. His genuine gratefulness for the things I take for granted really put some things into perspective. Had I not only hours ago complained about British food? On one hand I felt a bit ashamed and on the other I felt a rush of gratitude for the life I live. Suddenly all of my problems and worries seemed trivial compared to his. I hope I never forget our meeting with Tom.