Monday, October 24, 2005

Humbling

This morning I took a bag of throwaway clothes and shoes to People's Park in Berkeley. It seemed much easier than trying to find a Goodwill or Salvation Army shop. I was a bit worried that I was essentially littering. But before I could even get back into the car (borrowed off a friend, bless), this young guy had ambled over and started going through it. The first thing he did was measure the shoes against his feet. The black, woman's shoes with heels. I just found that really sad, that it was just a matter of would they fit and keep his feet dry. Then as he kept on going through the bag he looked up and waved at me and looked so damn grateful.

I find it incomprehensible that there are so many homeless here in one of the richest nations in the world. So much for the American dream.

R.