Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 8, 1992                   TAG: 9203090200
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HOMELESS MAN HAD BEEN HELPED AT RESTAURANT

There is a lot more to this story than the gentleman knows. The place I work, in the Roanoke Holiday Inn, has more heart and soul than any other restaurant I've worked. The people I work for and work with have big hearts and do care about their community. The homeless man mentioned in the article had been in many times before, and we had fed him or given him money.

I feel that I myself provoked this incident because I am the one who started feeding him. My heart went out to him. Another waitress and I would share the price of his bill. We were happy to do it; all we asked was that he come in after the lunch period.

On this day, he came in about 12:30 during a very busy lunch. I had two complaints from regular guests about the homeless man. It is my job to please my guests during their visits. On this day, I had to have the man escorted out. Before doing this, I gave him $4.

I struggle to get by. But I do my part to help. It seems to me the gentleman who wrote the article was very misinformed.

Let's face it, it is a downer for us to enjoy ourselves when across the room is a reminder of our failures. But I can look myself proudly in the mirror and honestly say I helped someone today. I am a good, decent person. Can everyone else say that? PATTI HORN BUCHANAN