I am the sixth of seven children and my parents, particularly my Mom, liked to have us all at home. I had never missed a Christmas before. We are a Catholic family, and I hoped my parents would be proud that I was taking care of a man in dire need. Still, it was hard to call my parents. They were concerned.
Homeless people can often be violent.
Some are criminals. I explained that Robert was a harmless old man, nearly sixty years of age, born in Ireland, but too simple for this world we live in. Someone had to care for him. And on this Christmas, that someone was me. Christmas mornings for me had usually been noisy affairs.