What would you do?

So this is a little off-topic for me but I saw something this morning and felt like I was on an episode of "What Would You Do?" Ah, there's my TV tie-in! Ever seen it? I've seen a few segments and it's actually really entertaining, and at times appalling.  What Would You Do?

It's not uncommon to see a homeless person sleeping in a Duane Reade doorway or on some stoop when I'm walking to the gym at 6:15 in the morning.  So when I saw someone on the ground just to the side of a restaurant doorway this morning, I didn't think much of it. But as I got closer and was passing by, I realized this guy was dressed in a suit, with his jacket slung over one of his sprawled out arms. Kind of odd. This was not a homeless guy, but rather (I was guessing at this point) some dude who got drunk and passed out.

I assume most of you, like me, have stories from college that might resemble this situation. No, they don't involve me!  Even if I happen to have one drink too many (just one, I swear), I always manage to make it home--my real home, not outside, not the bathroom, not the front door, not the...--brush my teeth, take out my contacts and wash my face. Always.  But not everyone is so responsible.  Freshman year, a friend's boyfriend got super drunk, went back to his room and went to sleep. He woke up a short time later, walked into what he thought was the bathroom and urinated in what he thought was the urinal. Nope. It was the window seat on his roommate's side of the room. Whoops.  At our 5 year reunion, an acquaintance of mine got drunk, went back to his motel and fell asleep in his room. Oh no, wait. He was lying outside the door to his room, thinking the doormat was his bed. Yeah. 

But those are college stories, or, in the case of the reunion, someone reliving his college experience. The guy I saw was clearly not in college. He was probably about my age, maybe a little older.  So, assuming drunken stupidity, I walked on by.  A couple walking towards me with their dog also seemed to notice this guy. And I started thinking, well what if he's in trouble? What if he's not breathing? There were LOUD trucks going up the street and he wasn't moving or registering a thing. Should I have sprayed him with some water to wake him up? Can you imagine waking up on the sidewalk, possibly having had rats or roaches crawling on you in the night (blech-I cringe at the thought) and being totally disoriented, not to mention hung over? That would be massively embarrassing, no?  I thought about it all the way to the gym and into the first few minutes of the class I was taking. I then proceeded to not think about it due to the workout kicking my butt at the time. When I passed by the  at 7:30, he was gone. And there was no police barricade surrounding the spot he had been in, so clearly he did not die.  And now I'm wondering how many people does this happen to every night? In a city like New York, I imagine this guy is not the only Drunky McDrunkerson who fell asleep on the sidewalk. I would hope other people have friends to get them home.

Should I have tried to help him? I don't know. This is New York, where a 4'11" guy walks around groping girls (watch out, ladies).  So who knows what an embarrassed, hung over guy would do if he was abruptly woken up on a random street at 6:15 AM?  Maybe nothing. Maybe he would have thanked me and went on his way.  

Whoever you are, guy who slept on the street last night, I wish you well (and hope that you weren't robbed while passed out).  But next time, get home safe.

What would you have done?