Sadly, today I witnessed a truly homeless man.
There are haves and have-nots amongst the homeless.
Some of us are fortunate to have a tent and some trustworthy camp-mates who aid us in our travails. We are the haves.
Then, there are the have-nots who don't have any friends and sleep wherever their head rests that night.
I saw a man, who shall remain anonymous, asleep on the bench at Lot 56.
He lost his tent and all his belongings during a flash flood. That's at least the second time he's seen his personal sleeping accomodations swept away by a deluge of water.
Now he's destitute.
That's the definitive homeless man who needs help more than anyone else. He can't cope on his own.
He relies on others. And sometimes there's no one to help him, so he just sleeps wherever there's a vacant bench.
I'm bewildered but know how he feels because last year at this time I was sleeping in an abandoned house on Leverett.
Alas, one night I returned and the house had been razed to the ground. All that was left was a pile of bricks.
Crestfallen I went to the Walton Arts Center and slept in the "garden" two nights.
Finally a man befriended me and permitted me to camp out with him.
Again, the only people who can truly help a "homeless" individual is another homeless person who cares and shares his humble surroundings.
More on this later. I'm just still trying to fathom why some are haves and others are have-nots.
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