All he had to live on

I saw a man the other day in real time, broad daylight, twelve noon, here in the Southern city of Jupiter, Florida. I could not believe what I saw and as strange as it was, I had seen it in the Northern city of Biddeford, Maine this spring. It is not just a Southern problem. This guy was stopped on his bike, having crossed the bridge; he was positioned next to a church and was attempting to balance, from what I could see: two plastic bags of groceries, a backpack and the most surprising, a twin mattress. Yes, you heard me right. He was carrying his bed. Anyone could be in this situation, and what *Mark Twain’s character Huck Finn said is quite true, "People can be awful cruel to one another.” They just drive right on by and really do not seem to care. When I talk to people about homelessness they say things like: “Yeah, but some do not want any help,” “They brought it on themselves,” “There is plenty of work out there, they are just lazy,” “They are drunks,” “They just want a hand out…”And I wonder if it has ever occurred to these people who make these statements, that homeless people might just need a little encouragement such as: a kind word, a place to sleep for the night, other than that spot in the woods or the city park bench. Have you ever slept in your car? I think of those who do not have a car and sleep in a cardboard box. And then I think of all the money in these United States of America, the “United We Stand, Divided We Fall,” United States. And I wonder why. *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress