The Walk Up Hill

This evening I walked down the hill to Walgreens on Polk Street to gather a few items before the weekend. There were many homeless people sleeping in the doorways of restaurants and people who looked confused wondering around the sidewalk in search of drugs. As I walked into Walgreens an older man sat in the front begging for money. Shopping at local stores and riding my bike down Polk Street each day I begin to see the same homeless people on the streets of San Francisco. This evening I saw a man rolled up in a sleeping bag on the sidewalk - crying under a light from the window above. Did he choose this spot because the light provided safety? Did his neck hurt in the morning from sleeping without a pillow? Did the fog make his sleeping bag wet in the morning? These are some of the thoughts which ran through my mind as I passed his body on the sidewalk. I began to realize how fortunate I was to be healthy and surrounded by people who care. It made me sad to think about his family or lack of people who cared about his well being. It's amazing how we can walk past these ghosts in the night - we have all been guilty of this at one point in our life. We become numb to the homeless people - not because we're mean but because they're always there. This blog is not meant to be a lecture or a revelation but a way to ask some of the readers out there to think about helping the less fortunate next time. Some of these people may have put themselves on the street, but there are some who suffer from mental illness and cannot afford the treatment needed to fix the situation. This world has become cynical and callous - it's time we extend a little trust to those who might need an extra push or a smile of acknowledgment. I


Thanks for reading.