How cold is it? One of the local reporters did that trick where you wet a T-shirt, then show it a few minutes later when it’s frozen solid. But I was feeling restless from being trapped inside the house, so I went out for lunch today.
As I was driving through the Port Richmond Shopping Center to get to Girard Avenue, I saw the same homeless guy I did last week, only this time, he was standing near the entrance lane on the other side.
I remembered him because he was so much more well-spoken than most of the beggars in my neighborhood, and it struck me at the time, “This is a guy who’s not used to being poor.” He stood there with a shovel and broom, holding a sign asking people to hire him to shovel snow. (Anyone who’s ever been poor knows you have to go knock on doors.)
Anyway, while I was eating lunch today, I made a mental note to stop by and see if I could take the guy to get some fast food, where he could come in from out of the cold. Some places won’t allow homeless people inside, but some will. But by the time I drove back, he was gone.
Hopefully he’s somewhere warm.
It is even too cold for the polar bears in the Chicago Zoo.
Sad to say it, but you’ll probably get another chance to help him.
There but for the grace of god . . . as my grandma used to say.