The true meaning of Christmas

Not every day are we able to make a difference in someones life. Today was my day. I ran around doing 5 billion errands this morning, including a really nice "lunch date" with Melody. She was overly cooperative and happy all day, so I took advantage of it and kept dragging the poor kid to the stores. I was debating whether to go home, or hit the grocery store as one last stop. I asked Melly if she was up for it, and she said yes. So, off we go and do our shopping.
I'm leaving the store and I see the Salvation Army guy ringing the bell. I give Melody a couple of quarters and felt good about contributing. "A good lesson I'm teaching her" I thought all proud. So I get to the car, put her in, and start adding the groceries.
At this point, I see a man looking at a piece of paper, looking around the streets, and kind of wandering around the parking lot some. He comes up to me and asks if I know where Catholic Charities is located. Sadly, I didn't know. I guess it was something he saw in my face, or fate, or this guy was getting his one streak of luck that he picked me to ask, because he looked in my eyes and burst into tears. In this sad world, you never know who is taking advantage, who is pulling a scheme, or who is out to hurt you. Here is his sad story and think about what you would do if you were in my shoes.
He lives in Florida and had to come up for his fathers funeral with his 3 month old son. He has no other family up here and his money is gone. He was only planning on being here for a few days, which turned into 2 weeks due to legal paperwork with his fathers affairs. He didn't have any more money for gas, food, or more importantly his son. He had a list of charitable organizations that are designed to help people, yet each one he went to closed the door in his face. Each one sent him to another organization because he didn't qualify. WIC is only for mothers, Danbury Hospital can only give him one small bottle of formula per day. The Salvation Army is only for Danbury residents, YMCA didn't have anything they could do for him, the fire department referred him to Catholic Charities, which have moved buildings and the sign on the door did not say to where. I remember being in the Human Service field long ago, this problem came about often. Some families needed help, but they didn't qualify the right way and the money could only be spent a certain way. The only thing he asked me is if I could help him buy a container of formula for his son. So I did.
Now, looking back I have more questions, like who was watching his son, and couldn't he have asked a neighbor for help, and all these different scenarios. All the skeptics that are reading are probably saying this guys was full of it. But then I think about if I was in a strange town, didn't know anyone, what would I do? Not everyone has the same abilities to deal with adverse situations. Also, what harm can be done with a can of formula? I don't believe it can be melted down into drugs, nor can it be sold on the black market for something else. And, if you could have seen this grown man burst into tears as he's crying over his fathers death, and what he was going to do, it just broke my heart and it felt right to help him.
I then told Melly in the car, that was what it's all about. Helping people when they need it