I was pulling out of downtown Durham today on 147 when I saw homeless woman standing on the on-ramp holding a sign that said, "I live in these woods."
It was hot. Hot hot. And the woods where this woman claimed to live looked like they'd be really noisy, being about 10 feet from highway traffic.
But nobody gave this woman any change. Nobody gave her anything until one man rolled down his window and extended his hand with a peach in the palm. The homeless woman walked out into the middle of traffic, accepted his gift with a smile, and took a bite.
Josh Shaffer feels drawn to life's smaller stories – the tiny triumphs of ordinary people, the curiosities you see out the window of your car. He plays the trombone. He can juggle a little. His hero is this guy from Baltimore who lost his paycheck when it blew off his dashboard, and who responded by stopping his car to do a little dance on the shoulder and say, "Oh, well. I'll get another one next week."