At work, there was a quiet guy named Paul who always brought the same plain sandwich for lunch \u2014 no chips, no drink, nothing fancy. We teased him for it sometimes, and he\u2019d just smile. When he quit, I helped him clean out his desk and found a stack of children\u2019s drawings tied with a rubber band. Crayon hearts, stick figures, and notes like \u201cThank you, Mr. Paul.\u201d One showed a man handing out sandwiches.<\/p>\n
Paul never mentioned having kids, so I asked. He said, \u201cYou ever been to the West End Library around 6 p.m.? Come by sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Curious, I went. Outside the library, Paul stood with a cooler bag and brown paper sacks. About fifteen kids \u2014 some homeless \u2014 lined up as he handed each one a sandwich with a few kind words. \u201cMost of them don\u2019t get dinner,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I figured I could make sure they get one meal a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those plain sandwiches weren\u2019t just his lunch \u2014 they were practice. Peanut butter and jelly, simple and reliable. \u201cSame sandwich every time,\u201d he said. \u201cSome say it\u2019s the best part of their day.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d grown up in foster care, often hungry. \u201cI know what it\u2019s like to be invisible,\u201d he told me. When he later collapsed from exhaustion, I kept his promise \u2014 to keep it going. Soon, coworkers joined in, starting \u201cSandwich Fridays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul recovered and started a nonprofit, One Meal Ahead<\/em>. He never sought praise \u2014 just kept showing up.<\/p>\n Heroes don\u2019t always wear capes. Some wear brown jackets and carry lunch sacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At work, there was a quiet guy named Paul who always brought the same plain sandwich for lunch \u2014 no chips, no drink, nothing fancy. We teased… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n