I interacted with a homeless person tonight. There are lots of them sheltered in the nearby woods but nobody sees them much. They are as invisible as a Dope City politician's integrity.
I had seen the man before and thought he looked like a regular guy who just happened to live outdoors. Turns out he is probably retarded. His speech was slow and it made me feel sad. He is a friendly guy though, called me "brother" and gave my dog a real good petting.
He was carrying a bag. I hope there was something in the bag strong enough to get him through the damp night.
It was just about dark and he was returning to his tent, the tent with the "Home Sweet Home" plaque nailed to one of the alders his shelter is tied to. Above us the forest swayed like a drunk soldier in the Remembrance wind. If he is lucky a branch will not break from a tree while he sleeps and impale him through his chest.
When the Hammer and I returned home from our walk I discovered my furnace's pilot light had gone out. For a brief time I too was cold and homeless. Then I opened a beer, lit the pilot light, turned up the furnace and watched the fucking news.
1 comment:
It seems like Dope City has mastered that wonderfully low cost alternative to social services: "Care in the Community".
Hey. The fact that you engaged him in something akin to conversation, amounts to social interaction, doesn't it ? Didn't cost the tax payer a dime. And. After all, the guy has a tent in those woods, doesn't he ? Not exactly homeless.
Those fuckers have to understand that if you want 21st century luxuries like electricity and heat you had better work for it just like everybody else.
Come February, the City can simply cart away the frozen corpses under cover of darkness, and by Spring there will be a surfeit of identical replacements. Nobody will be any the wiser.
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