97 Years Old And Homeless

Homelessness is pot-marked by stereotypes and misconceptions.

I’m willing to bet that if you took a group of folks, placed them in a room and asked them to discuss homelessness, many of the most prevalent stereotypes would dominate the conversation.

I’m also willing to bet that there would be little – or nothing at all – said about the numbers of children who experience homelessness each year.

Probably less would be said about the number of senior citizens who unfortunately find themselves homeless.  

Contrasts

There is a news story that I’ve put off writing about for weeks; one that I’ve been following for quite some time now. I’ve put of writing about it partly because I wanted to see how it would turn out, but more than – that I’ve put it off because it makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it.

In 1999, Paul Vados, a homeless gentleman in the Los Angeles area, was killed in a "hit and run accident."

In 2005, Kenneth McDavid, another one of L.A.’s homeless, was also killed in a "hit and run accident."

What both of these deaths have in common is that they were caused by the same two individuals: Helen Golay, 77 and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75.  

In The Mirror

This morning, as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror shaving, I happened to catch a good look at the eyes that were gazing back at me. At first those eyes seemed unfamiliar. They were eyes that had seen too much – and yet, in some ways, not enough. The eyes told the story of a life that has been altered forever by the experience of homelessness. Then I noticed the eyes that were gazing back at me were becoming filled with tears.  

Resolutions

The New Year is officially here.

My other half and I spent a good part of yesterday reflecting on, not only the last year, but the past couple of years. The past couple of years have seemed like a life of captivity. Quite often that’s the way homelessness can feel.  

Gray Saturday

Yesterday was "Black Friday" and is considered THE biggest shopping day of the year – and geez-o-pete were the people out shopping! Shopping malls, shopping centers and department stores of every kind were besieged by folks out to "get a bargain."

While I don’t know the history behind the term "Black Friday" I suspect that it has to do with the idea of businesses being either in the "black" or in the "red" – although I’m sure that the must be at least one or two businesses somewhere who like to use "blue" ink.