{"id":2099,"date":"2007-11-24T22:07:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-24T22:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/11\/he-feeds-everybody-hes-an-angel.html"},"modified":"2007-11-24T22:07:00","modified_gmt":"2007-11-24T22:07:00","slug":"he-feeds-everybody-hes-an-angel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/11\/he-feeds-everybody-hes-an-angel.html","title":{"rendered":"“He feeds everybody. He’s an angel.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Every now and then in the Sunday New York Times, in between the ads for the thousand dollar Gucci ear rings and the million dollar Westchester bungalows, you find something truly priceless. <\/p>\n

This story<\/a> is that something. <\/p>\n

It’s a beautifully told tale of an immigrant named Jorge Munoz who drives a bus during the day and, after the sun sets, seeks out the illegals and the out-of-work-barely-legal immigrants who are going for days with little more for a meal than bread. He finds them, and he feeds them. <\/p>\n

Here’s a snip: <\/p>\n

For many New Yorkers, Thanksgiving is a weekend to indulge in a brief stint of volunteerism at a church or soup kitchen. For Mr. Mu\u00f1oz, the holiday is just another night devoted to feeding his unofficial flock.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single night, Jorge is here,\u201d said one worker, his leathery face peering out from a hooded sweatshirt. \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. Rain, thunderstorm, lightning. He do that from his good will, you know.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe feeds everybody, make the stomach happy,\u201d the worker added. \u201cHe\u2019s an angel.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Mr. Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s truck pulled in, several workers pressed their faces to the tinted windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of dinner. Hopping into the back of the truck, Mr. Mu\u00f1oz began untying steaming containers filled with hot chocolate and foil-covered trays of homemade barbecued chicken. As the workers accepted Styrofoam containers stuffed with hearty portions of chicken and rice, they thanked him as respectfully as if he were a parent, never mind that the 5-foot-2 Mr. Mu\u00f1oz, with his buzz cut and boyish grin, could pass for 20-something.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless you,\u201d one burly worker said as he dug into his meal. \u201cI haven\u2019t eaten in three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Mu\u00f1oz replied with a smile, \u201cYou can eat here every day at 9:30.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship between Mr. Mu\u00f1oz and many of the men he feeds is personal. \u201cUribe, you want more coffee?\u201d he asked as he saw a familiar face. \u201cSimon, do you want seconds on this pasta?\u201d<\/p>\n

In a way, Mr. Mu\u00f1oz seems to need these men as much as they need him. His unofficial meal program gives meaning and focus to his life. He is as eager to help his motley clientele as they are to be helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know these people are waiting for me,\u201d he said of the emotions that fuel his quixotic and perhaps obsessive crusade. \u201cAnd I worry about them. You have to see their smile, man. That\u2019s the way I get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operation through which these workers have been fed without charge began three years ago and is financed mainly from the $600 a week Mr. Mu\u00f1oz earns driving a school bus.<\/p>\n

His life revolves almost entirely around preparing and serving the meals. All the cooking is done in the small house with gray vinyl siding where he lives with his 66-year-old mother, Doris Zapata, and his sister, Luz, who works for the Social Security Administration.<\/p>\n

He telephones home from the road a dozen times a day to plan the menus. He has few friends, and no hobbies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen a movie in two years,\u201d Mr. Mu\u00f1oz said one afternoon in his kitchen as he boiled milk for hot chocolate. \u201cBut sometimes I listen to music when I\u2019m driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

His sister described the situation more bluntly. \u201cHe got no life,\u201d she said, looking awkwardly away from her brother as she stirred a boiling pot of lentils. \u201cBut he got a big heart. He really does.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See how these Christians love one another? <\/p>\n

Take a moment and read the whole thing<\/a> and whisper a prayer of gratitude for all the Jorge Munozes of the world. <\/p>\n

Photo: by Oscar Hidalgo for the New York Times <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every now and then in the Sunday New York Times, in between the ads for the thousand dollar Gucci ear rings and the million dollar Westchester bungalows, you find something truly priceless. This story is that something. It’s a beautifully told tale of an immigrant named Jorge Munoz who drives a bus during the day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n"He feeds everybody. 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