Friday

Today I had to go to Walgreens to buy an energy drink before work because I was just so exhausted. There is a bum that sits in front of the store quite frequently, and as I walked out, I gave him a dollar. Something I never do, but he was just so friendly and sad looking, and didn't have the usual annoying beggar attitude. He thanked me and then said, "you have a very nice demeanor. Just looking at you makes me happy," then flashed me a big, toothless smile. I was kind of shocked by this but it really brightened my day. Is that strange? Or just strange that I think it is strange? I guess I also didn't expect such a sentence to come from a bum. I guess we are just guilty of making snap judgements about people, so much so that I forgot this man has a past. For all I know he could have been very successful in his prime, but for one reason or another has been forced to live in a homeless existence now.

But on the totally opposite end of the homeless spectrum, there is a homeless man that lives near my work. He has come in one other time while I was working, and again tonight. He comes in, starts yelling about who knows what, asks for some water or to use the restroom, and stills the tips. The first time he came in, luckily I only had $2 in my tip jar, and my manager saw him take it and took it back. He is a very tall and loud man, and pretty scary. Tonight I had over $20 in my jar when he came in. As soon as he came in, I grabbed the glass and hid it under the register. He throws his hands in the air and starts yelling, "what happened? What happened?" Asks for some water, and starts yelling at me asking why I took the tips away. My manager told him to never come back, and he left.

Homelessness is not new to me, I live in a city where it is seen on so many streets that shock wore off a long time ago. I used to feel bad and give change to most that asked, but after living here for 3 years, you just get numb to it. Whether this is sad, or just expected, I don't know..but it is strange.

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6 Pints of strawberries is the name, eating them all before they go bad is the game. Some days there is a guy who sells big boxes of strawberries in front of a church between Maximum Mama and my house. I bought a box (which is 6 pints...6 of the small green containers) a month or so ago, and ate every single berry in about 4 days. They are just THE best fruit. It is a good thing they don't turn you red the way carrots do when you eat a ton of them...or I would be in trouble! There are sooo many of them, I can't wait!!