One cold day in 2015, Rebecca Carlman shivered as she walked into
The Windmill Restaurant Inc. in Concord, NH. With $10 in her pocket, all the money she had to her
name, she hoped to have a hot meal and warm drink to stave off the cold.
Rebecca had been homeless for 3 years when she came into the restaurant that fateful day. She was pleasantly surprised she wasn’t rushed out the door once she had finished her meal, as many restaurants in town did to homeless patrons. Instead she found friendly and caring staff who never made her feel unwelcome. The Windmill quickly became her go to place when she needed to find a warm and comfortable place to eat.
Eventually the owner, Kosmas Smirnioudis, offered Rebecca a job at the restaurant. Rebecca did the dishes and peeled 5 gallons of potatoes, onions and carrots, and mopped floors for a small income and a free meal.
Then one day, a one legged pastor, another frequent patron at the restaurant, approached Rebecca while she was eating. He told her, he had heard about her and how the restaurant had enriched her life. The pastor then introduced her to a woman who helped her get stable housing through the Salvation Army’s McKenna House.
That was the last the Windmill staff ever saw of Rebecca.
Every year since 1990 The Windmill has hosted a free Thanksgiving luncheon for the homeless and low income who are in need of a Thanksgiving meal.
In 2021, the staff were hard at work when a family walked in for the Thanksgiving meal and several employees froze in their tracks, gasped, and started to weep.
“It’s been 5 years! We think about you all the time and wonder what happened to you! We didn’t know if you were even still alive!”
In the years since Rebecca had last been to the Windmill, she had successfully completed the program at the Salvation Army, gone to work for a non profit, and bought her own home. Rebecca started an online support group for others experiencing homelessness. She regularly visits homeless encampments to hand out survival gear they need. She brought her family and friends to the Thanksgiving meal to eat with the homeless friends she now helps.
Since 2021 it’s become an annual tradition for Rebecca to visit The Windmill for Thanksgiving. -She also has an ugly Christmas sweater contest with her friends each year.-
This Thanksgiving 2025, Rebeca got to hug Kosmas Smirnioudis and thank him for giving her a chance.
-She also won the ugly Christmas sweater contest this year!-
rethink the week
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Stephen Pimpare is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Master in Public Policy program at Vermont Law and Graduate School. He is the author of four books, numerous articles, and the Host of the New Books Network's public policy channel.
Lincoln Mitchell teaches in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.He covers the politics of NYC and San Francisco as well as International politics. He is the author of seven books and is a frequent contributor to CNN Opinion, the San Francisco Examiner and Brussels Morning.
Laura Jedeed is a freelance journalist who primarily focuses on the American conservative movement. Her bylines include The New Republic, Rolling Stone, and Politico, and you can find her newsletter at BannedInYourState.com
Bill Curry was a Connecticut state senator, comptroller and two time Democratic nominee for governor who served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House. He has written for Salon, the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post and the Hartford Courant and has provided commentary on National Public Radio, MSNBC and many other news outlets.
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