He was a big man, maybe 6'3" or so. At the corner of a busy intersection, outside a convenience store, he was asking passers-by, "Hey buddy, have a buck to spare?" His physical stature alone could have been perceived as intimidating, but his tone wasn't. I was on my bike, stopped at a red light, a few yards away. Our eyes met, so I decided to wave hello to him.

Just a few minutes earlier, about 8 blocks away, I had passed a man balancing a large wooden piece of furniture on the seat and handle bar of a small bike, which he used as a makeshift dolly, slowly--and precariously, but successfully--rolling it up the street. I hesitated then, finally deciding that approaching with an open heart was worthwhile in an of itself, even if any offer to assist was unnecessary. It became apparent there was a language barrier, as "S'okay," and "Thank you" were the only phrases he said to me over a few minutes of walking together. After he (we--sort of) set the furniture down at its destination, his final "thank you" had a slightly tone to it. That felt good to me, and I rode on with that feeling.

So when I came to big man number 1, I carried that open feeling with me. After I waved, he called his standard greeting to me, and I shouted back across traffic noise, "I give out spare hugs though!" He didn't hear so we both inched closer to each other. "I give out spare hugs, if you want one," I offered again, truly unsure how it would land. I was still straddling my bike at that point, but before I could think through how he would respond and how I might get off the bike and not create a traffic block (which honestly, I think would have been fine in that case :)), etc.--without a second thought his arms are open, his face brightened and he said something affirmative I can't remember what, and so I opened my arms too. He really was big. I could feel my relative smallness against the backdrop of his enveloping frame.

Then, still in embrace, he said "I love you man," very genuinely, as we separated and he looked me in the face. "Stay warm, and stay safe," he added, and I could feel the caring behind his words. Part of me was startled, taken by surprise, and another part of me, the part that reciprocated his love, felt it to be very natural. We do live in the city of brotherly [siblingly] love after all.