Written by Andrew Zimmern, this story first appeared in the November 2012 issue of Guideposts magazine, a monthly publication, founded by Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, that provides hope, encouragement and inspiration to millions. Download of a condensed version of 'The Power of Positive Thinking' absolutely FREE.I sat down on the bed next to Jimmy, this small room at the veterans residential care facility the only thing between him and the streets of New York City. His demeanor was guarded. He smiled, but his eyes were tired.
I knew he thought there was no way I could understand what he was going through, but when I looked at him I saw myself -- like I was looking in a mirror.
I get asked to speak to a lot of different groups, one of the best parts of my job hosting a show on the Travel Channel, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. I take viewers to the far corners of the globe and introduce them to other cultures by exploring the foods they eat -- at times, pretty strange stuff.
If there's one thing I've learned after a lifetime of dining on delicacies like blood pudding, sea squirts and camel kidneys, even folks who wouldn't come within 100 yards of a Cambodian tarantula want to hear what it's like to chomp on one!
That, ostensibly, was why I was here. I was speaking at a fund-raising gala for Services for the Underserved. SUS helps people with developmental disabilities, HIV/AIDS , the mentally ill and homeless veterans.
It's an organization devoted to supplying housing and supportive services to all of the underserved communities of NYC. I'd come into town on the early side so I could tour their residential facilities for veterans.
I'd met Jimmy in the common room. We struck up a conversation and I asked if I could see where he lived.
"I've made a mess of my life," he said. He told me how for years he'd struggled with physical and emotional problems, lost his marriage and his business. "I had nothing to live for. It just seemed so hopeless before I got help here at SUS."
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