20 January 2024
1105
R. Linda:
There are times you have not a thought in your head, but whatever that inner voice is babbling on about is all nonsense and you can feel the time is wasted with these self-conversations. That was my condition as I waited for me Mam to get out of her medical appointment. I had gone with her because she was a wee bit stressed. She needed a shoulder and I wanted to be it for her. She was stressed that the appointment would be bad news, and it turned out not to be.
While I was sitting in the car waiting (the waiting room is usually packed so I opted out) I smelt rather than saw this man walk by me. He had a funny gait like his posterior hurt. I took a double-take because of the amount of faecal matter he was sporting on his behind. I could only think he was a homeless person who had no use for a loo or worse was denied one.
I don't know his circumstances and if he doesn't mind his being down and out, or if he is in dire straits because of it. I do know this is a worldwide problem and I wish instead of funding war machines, we could help those of us who can't help themselves. Don't get me wrong I understand the funding of war in other places to keep the world safe, but is it as important as our own living on the edge of society in a hopeless mishmash of circumstances they can't control?
I went home that day and instead of contributing to a candidate, I contributed to our local soup kitchen to at least keep the food coming for those who have none. This is a problem in many countries, not just this one. I do hope we get a candidate that gives a damn about us and not themself. I already know who I am voting for in the primary. I just hope that the official candidate is the one I have high hopes for. That person is smart, experienced and likeable. Their ideas for a new way forward are solid and they are steady in their determination to improve our lot.
Anyway, I hadn't seen any homeless persons while out and about until Mam's appointment. There was another who was sitting on a bedspread by the side of the town library. I was stopped for the light and a policeman made his way over to the fellow. He had a bag from MacDonald's and a drink. These he handed to the man with what looked like a few words of encouragement, and I was wowed. What a solid gesture for a fellow man. Now I have seen a few more homeless on me way to the appointment and back, and I can imagine how tough it is. I had to stop to let one man with a wash bucket holding what I assume were his worldly belongs, cross. I wonder now if I had run up to that man if he would have accepted my help, or he might not have been receptive. So the best I can do is hope someone else helps him and others like him but I can do my part in any way I can. So my donation is a start.
Gabe
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3 comments:
Unfortunately there is a lot of that going on. I always give money for food if I see someone in the city in need who isn't drugged up and dangerous.
its awful to see something like that but thank you for keeping the subject on the front burner. something needs to be done to help.
Being aware of this problem is one thing, doing something about it is quite another. People don't seem to care and those that do are too few. I thought the policeman's gesture was poignant if not bittersweet.
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