I have no idea who the gentleman is pictured above, and he has no idea who I am, nor was it clear to either of us why he came ringing the doorbell as it approached 10 pm one Saturday night back in December. It took me nearly 10 minutes to get him off the front porch, although most of what he had to say while stymying my efforts to dismiss him never quite became cogent. I did try to find out for whom he thought he was looking when he came a-calling, but that didn't get me anywhere.
The next unwelcome caller rang the doorbell after midnight in the earliest minutes of January 24th. By the time I got out of bed and got some clothes on, I spotted him hobbling down the sidewalk past the driveway. He was looking from house to house confusedly and he seemed to have trouble walking. I caught up with him in hopes I could help him find the house he was looking for without rousing any other neighbors who were not his intended destination.
It turns out that he had found his way back downtown after being discharged from Baptist Hospital, and he was looking for a homeless assistance center, reportedly in the vicinity of Fourth and Spring Streets. So I walked with him to the only two places I knew of nearby that regularly offered services to the needy, but of course neither was open nor offering shelter services. We finally had to reach out to the Winston-Salem Police Department and, about 1:15 am, an officer found us where we were waiting in the chill night air. I headed back home after the policeman said he'd take the gentleman to one of the shelters located up around Tenth or Eleventh Street.
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