Sunday, August 2, 2020

Girl on the corner.


 One day when I was driving in to work this week, a young girl was asking for change at the lights. She was young, probably not much older than 18, 19, maybe younger. She was a cute looking girl, possibly Indigenous and European ancestry mixed, I could tell she definitely was a homeless person. Everyone was ignoring her, to be fair probably not from being uncaring, unfortunately this happens at almost every light downtown. She nervously looked towards me, I looked down at my change cup.. empty. I smiled, shrugged my shoulders and put my hands out as a sign that I had nothing, while mouthing the word "sorry". Instead of being annoyed, her face lite up and she gave me this sweet little wave and a big smile.

 I thought about that as the light turned green and I drove away. She probably gets ignored and treated rudely all day, maybe because I took the time to communicate with her in a small way, it allowed her to feel human again, to not feel judged.

 I couldn't help think, where is your dad, where is your mom, why aren't they looking out for you, such a sweet kid, if she was my daughter I would be trying to help her. She is a broken person.. but I can't judge her because I'm broken too.

 It's been hard to write again, some of you know why. Writer's block? It's more like a mountain I have to get over. I have worked through something and it's pretty much over now but I'm going to start talking about it because this is my blog... these are my feelings, I want to look back one day and remember. Unfortunately I have to go back, I will be moving backwards, it's up to each person to come with me or skip over it.

15 comments:

Deedles said...

I'm with you, kiddo. I take a vow not to be a judgmental smartass. Hugs. Missed you.

JanF said...

I love that you share your thoughts and will always watch for them. What a sweet young girl, I hope she will be O.K. It's funny how sometimes a moment shared like that stays with you for ages.

HuntleyBiGuy said...

First, I’m glad that you’re back. And thanks again to Deedles for letting us know you were OK.

I had a similar experience this past weekend. I was taking the dogs to the groomer. I was going down the road at a pretty good clip, passing a corn field. I caught something out of the corner of my eye that I thought was some trash on the side of the road. But as I passed by and looked in my rear view mirror I saw two young girls getting out of sleeping bags. They were probably about the same age as your girl. I was going to stop and see if they needed assistance on my way back home, but they were gone by that time.

These are difficult times for so many people. I’m fortunate, at this point, to help when I can.

You are a good soul, Steven. Never lose that.

Ur-spo said...

I am always delighted to see you post even when you supposedly have nothing to write.

Christina said...

I'm so happy you're back. I've wondered if you were ok.xx

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

Great to read you!
And it's your blog, so...

XOXO

Bathwater said...

I agree write it down while you still remember. Life should be recorded.

Bob said...

I imagine she was just happy to be seen. Most of us would be happy if we were just seen.

RJ said...

Glad you're back. Sometimes you need to step away while you work through things.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

It's your blog so write what you want!

Dave R said...

I know you felt sorry for the girl, that's how she wants you to feel. We had to deal with beggars at the store. They always choose a place with a red light so you have to stop. We had one who held up a sign, 'homeless veteran.' If you bought burger at the nearby MacDonald's you you could sit and watch how many times cars stopped to give him money. If you talked to them at the MacDonald's they'd tell you how every day, at a specific time, a car would pull up and the beggar would get inside. Eventually, the police put a stop to it, not because he was a threat, but because begging was his full time job. It's easy to manipulate people if you know what you're doing.

Michael said...

Hi Steven,
Good to see a post from you. You are right, it is your blog and you can write what you want, when you want to. And it is good to write things down, to chronicle your history.
Take care,
Michael

JP said...

It’s the seemingly small interactions in life which remind us we’re alive.
JP

John Going Gently said...

How are u steven

JM said...

I always wonder about those who are homeless. Do they have family, siblings, cousins? Friends? Someone they could turn to? I hope I never find myself in that situation.