Under Rooster’s Shadow

My daily brushes with the neighborhood rooster bring to mind another Rooster I encountered years ago. One beautiful spring day, I was working the northern tip of my territory. With only one more sales appointment to make before lunch, I parked under a shade tree, opened my car door and reviewed my notes before heading into the office.

Suddenly there was a dark presence looming over me. It was the shadow of a man rapidly approaching only feet away. Startled, I spoke out loudly with the deepest most confident voice I could muster “Don’t Come Any Closer! Step Away From My Car!”.

The man hesitated and stopped abruptly. I felt a mixture of fear and relief. Then the most peculiar thing happened. Standing still, he meekly said “I’m sorry, it’s just that I am hungry.”

I scanned him over, he was tall, thin, leather skinned, blood shot eyes and yellow hair from extreme sun exposure. His worn out t-shirt and jeans hung onto his body. He stood close enough and I could smell the alcohol emitting from every pore in his body. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, but clearly he lived a hard life, so he may have been younger.

Visually assessing him and potential threat, I spoke sternly to him. “You can’t approach a woman in her car like that!” With head down, appearing sheepish, he humbly repeated, ” I am hungry.” I looked at him and saw a McDonalds next door. I told him that I had an appointment, and I would buy him lunch afterwards, pointing to the fast food restaurant.

Grabbing my gear, I locked my car and headed into the office. Standing in my suit and 4 inch heals, I no longer felt threatened. I figured that I could outrun him if I kicked off my heals, seriously hoping that would not be necessary.

The appointment took longer than usual and leaving I had forgotten about the shadowy encounter. Approaching my car, I saw him standing under the nearby tree. Just imagine my consternation as I had incorrectly assumed he would wander on. Surely he could find someone else to appeal to for money. Smugly, I was sure he wanted drugs or alcohol.

Keeping my word, I put my work materials away and we walked to the nearby restaurant. I lectured him “You aren’t going to have much success approaching women that way. In fact, most women would call the cops.” He politely said that I was right. I was intrigued by his calm and humble demeanor.

Approaching the the restaurant, I asked his name. He said “The guys call me Rooster, but you can call me Mike.” He had, what appeared to be, a genuinely humble attitude. I felt as though something sacred occurred as he shared with me his actual first name.

We entered the restaurant at lunch hour. Standing at the back of the long line, I could feel the looks from the other patrons. Here I was in my suit with this man who obviously appeared to be homeless, and there was the pronounced smell of alcohol.I bought him lunch, and as we walked out, Rooster/Mike thanked me and headed north.

I went back to my car in a very humbled state. There was something, I cannot put my finger on, about this Rooster encounter. It brought to my mind the scripture verse:
” And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:42

I don’t know anything about Rooster, but I sense that God was working on my heart and truly teaching me humility through him After that encounter, every time I worked that part of my territory, I would look for Rooster, hoping to see him and engage him again. But to no avail, Rooster had flown the coop.