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No Good Deed
- Abstract
No Good Deed A Story Joseph Epstein Siegel prides himself on taking people as they are, each by himself and one at a time. He’s not about to play group favorites—blacks, gays, the handicapped, even Jews. All such claims to special treatment, he happens to think, are so much crap. But that doesn’t mean he’s heartless. Consider his adventures with Malik Hassan.
Malik stands in front of the Borders bookstore that Siegel passes every morning and evening on his way to and from the Northwestern train station, which is on the way to and from his work at the Chicago Board of Trade. Siegel could drive, but he likes the extra time to read the Wall Street Journal on the ride downtown, and the time to “decompress,” as he calls it, on the ride back. Malik sells the homeless newspaper, which in Chicago is called StreetSmart. Siegel has known him by sight for more than two years. Among his fellow vendors, Malik stands out for not being black or Hispanic. Also, as a man trying to earn his keep out of doors in the tough Chicago weather, for being old. Above all, for being completely unaggressive. Malik is dark. An Indian, maybe, or a Pakistani? Siegel, interested despite himself, isn’t sure. “Help the homeless,” is what vendors of these papers usually call out in a loud voice. But not Malik. He just stands on the corner, silent, looking off into the distance, a packet of papers cradled in his arm. Siegel learns that the vendors pay twenty-five cents for each copy of StreetSmart, which they sell for a buck. At a suburban dinner party, he suggests that someone wanting to help out one of these guys should just give him a dollar and leave the paper.
Begging is big in the neighborhood. The reason, Siegel has discovered, is that the local churches and synagogues have set up soup kitchens, and one of them provides overnight shelter. As a result of this kindness, you can’t walk a full block without getting hit up for your loose change or for the price of a ride on the ElSiegel prides himself on taking people as they are, each by himself and one at a time. He’s not about to play group favorites—blacks, gays, the handicapped, even Jews. All such claims to special treatment, he happens to think, are so much crap. But that doesn’t mean he’s heartless. Consider his adventures with Malik Hassan.
Malik stands in front of the Borders bookstore that Siegel passes every morning and evening on his way to and from the Northwestern train station, which is on the way to and from his work at the Chicago Board of Trade. Siegel could drive, but he likes the extra time to read the Wall Street Journal on the ride downtown, and the time to “decompress,” as he calls it, on the ride back.
About the Author
Joseph Epstein is a regular contributor to COMMENTARY.
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