I see homeless people. They become more common every day.
Now we’ve all heard stories, read articles, and even spoken about economic decline and lack of work ethic so present in today’s society. These words are not intended to address those subjects however. They are intended to show the other side of the story and depict a world where 5 degrees temperature difference can cost a life and a dollar can mean the new beginning for another soul.
“Hi” the woman replied bluntly.
“Boy, its cold” she continued, catching my attention as I’m always interested in ones critique of the weather.
“Yeah…” I agreed.
Conversation continued awkwardly until she began in on her personal life:
“I’m a PE teacher” She led off with, immediately making me second guess her sanity. There was no way such a person, buried beneath a wardrobe of dirtied clothing, bags of canned food, and sporting a rusted walker could be a PE teacher.
“What…?” I asked in slight amazement, staring at the walker which had 3 plastic bags of food from the local Lucky 7 market on each handle, bending them with the weight of unhealthy consumables. Following my gaze, the woman understood my questioning and began to explain in further detail:
“I got hit by a truck! Walking through the parking lot is not as safe as you think, even if you do look both ways. I’m trying to tell the kids to be safe and careful all the time, but they don’t listen... They just walk away from me…” She spoke sincerely. Her voice was slurred and wavy with the ways of insobriety. She continued by telling me of her hip replacement and eventual knee surgery. She told me of the physical therapy that must be done and her long wait before walking normal once more.
“When will you start work again?” I asked, assuming she was comfortable with the fact that she was so obviously homeless, broke, and out of work.
“I am a PE teacher.” She replied strongly, as if not letting go of the past and instead remaining with what she once was and hoped to be again.
“You can’t just stand up and walk away after something like that….it takes time and it takes a lot out of you. I’m trying to tell the kids to be safe and careful all the time, but they don’t listen. They just walk away from me….” She repeated, before I thanked her for her time and ran into the restaurant just before closing.
After the fact, and even still today, I think on that conversation and constantly go back and forth as to whether I believe all that the PE teacher said. I think of how outlandish it is that she was once a teacher of fitness and health and how now she has nothing and is the pinnacle of disability and uncleanliness, and then I don’t. I realize how easy it is to lose everything and how commonly it happens. She is not the only person I have met who boasts a life of perfection and happiness, yet stands in tattered rags.
A fireman
A preacher
A truck driver
A stockbroker
A PE teacher
No matter the place, no matter the situation before or the situation now, no matter the person.
They are proud to be people, just like you and me.
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Well, now I'm sad. Man, this piece was good, it really made a point. I'm going to be thinking about this for a long time.
I didn't really see any spelling and grammar issues, although your formatting is a bit to much like creative prose, instead of a news article or essay.
Now, I liked the fact that your language is short and sweet, straight to the point. It was a perfect way to tell this story. Aside from that, I was confused about the homeless woman. Was she crazy? And if she was, even if she wasn't, it didn't sound like she was "proud to be a person". I didn't think that was a good ending.
Overall, this was a really nice piece, and I'll remember it for a while.
Just one question: Do you live in a city?
Alex out!
Thank you for the feedback, I really do appreciate it!
I do live in the city most of the time, spending the rest in the country.
Getting both worlds is quite useful and my insight on both areas is unique in that I have a fresh perspective every time I go and return from one place to the other.
Cool!
I really enjoyed this.
Some of your sentences were somewhat difficult to understand and could be edited in order to be made clearer.
However, I absolutely loved the theme of this piece. It's refreshing to see a piece on this site that actually has a sophisticated theme.
Thank you! I only joined very recently and hope to continue bringing a unique style/theme to this site as I settle in.
This is the best essay I've ever read! I used to live in India when I was younger. India has one of the largest homeless populations in the world. Every day of my life, I would see a few dozen, just lying, sitting, begging on the streets of Delhi. Only after I grew older did I realise how terrible the issue is. History plays a huge part in it as well. Their ancestors were treated like the scum of the earth because of where the lived, who they knew, when they were born and what they did in the past. Not because who they were. This carries on even today. This has permanently ruined the society. So this essay really hit home. Keep up the good work!
WOW!
You have a very unique story yourself!
I would love to hear more about your time in India, it is such a culturally and spiritually rich place.
I'm glad you liked it! Living in India's not not all it's cut out to be, the rape rate is the second highest in the world, probably highest, because half of the rape cases are left unreported because they are committed by/to the poorer population of the country.