Yet his voice was pleasant as he said，“Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore， and there’s no bus till morning.”He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success， no one seemed to have a room.“I guess it’s my face...I know it looks terrible， but my doctor says with a few more treatments...” For a moment I hesitated， but his next words convinced me： “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed， but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready， I asked the old man if he would join us.
“No thank you. I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes， I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter， her five children， and her husband， who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint； in fact， every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease， which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
At bedtime， we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him.
When I got up in the morning， the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast， but just before he left for his bus， haltingly， as if asking a great favor， he said，“Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment？ I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added， “Your children made me feel at home. Grown-ups are bothered by my face， but children don’t seem to mind.”