Andy and the Peruvian

A word from Lil' O about Andy:

Andy is my dearest male friend in the world. He is sweet, tender, one of the best listeners I've ever met, a superbly talented actor, and an incredible song writer with one of the sharpest and dirtiest wits around. Here's what he did with his $20~

Andy's Story:

I gave my $20 to Luis, a Peruvian man that works at the Chevron station up the street. I get coffee there each day, and he makes me feel like I'm walking into his establishment, on Main St., in 1950's America. He gives me a rowdy "Hey, my friend, how are you doing?!?!?" then shakes my hand, every time I walk in the door. He works for minimum wage for an enormous, faceless corporation, and puts an inordinate amount of energy into making everyone he comes in contact with feel a little bit better. He always tries really hard, with his broken English, to find American bands from the 80's that we both dig. He always tosses out a new one each time I'm there.

I see him hustling around the store all the time, obsequiously performing whatever task his manager asks him to do with absolute pride. He's poor, and he works a lot of overtime to try to better his situation. I see him at the end of a 9 or 10 hour shift a lot, beat to hell. His "Hello! How are you doing?!?! is a little more mellow then, but just as heartfelt. He was so unbelievably appreciative of and surprised by the gift. I showed him a picture of you, then told him a little about you and what you wanted to accomplish by giving away money, and he was riveted. He's quite a guy. He's the type of person who, by having more resources at his disposal, the entire community is better off.