Day 24 of Homelessness

Immediately above are a few pictures I took today, a typical Sunday at Senior Support Services.

I believe that as social animals, we are compelled to help one another, and we do so in any variety of ways from charitable giving to shoveling a neighbor's walk. If we decline to do so, we rob ourselves of something we desperately need. In some ways, our homeless are better off than those seniors who rarely leave their homes as our day center provides a place for them to interact and help each other out, lending moral support.

On three nights so far at my favorite campsite, my only companion has been what I thought was a coyote, fox or rat. The first time I heard him, I could not figure out what he was doing. He was obviouly struggling but it was for what seemed like an hour directly across the river from me. He started moaning for a time and then I heard a big splash. The next morning I spotted the tree he had cut down and I've since learned that he tends to moan shortly before he finishes the job. On the second night, he awakened me, I got up to take a leak, he got frightened and slammed his tail on the water's surface. Last night, he was creeping around my tent and then headed out into the water.

A few weeks back, a homeless man was found dead in the river. I was worried he was my opera singer who was camped nearby and whom I hadn't heard since, but I'm happy to report he was singing away this morning, cheerful as ever.