“It hurts me in my heart!” Says my tourist passenger. “Such rich country, and look at these people, it hurts me in my heart!” as we pass by a homeless encampment. I am not sure where he is from, but he is dressed spiffy for a tourist, in a white panama hat and a unwrinkled blazer. “It hurts me in my heart” he says again, and hits his chest for emphasis. “We have lots of poverty in my country, but this is America” he says, “it hurts me in my heart”. A man with a wild beard dressed in a garbage bag pauses in front of the car and experimentally hits the hood with a hard bread roll. Cars behind honk. We are near Twitter and the techies hurry by unfazed. The road clears and we move on. “It hurts me in my heart!” He says a block later, and a drop of sweat materializes on his forehead. I hope I am not dealing with another impromptu ER ride, and I look to see what caused the distress this time. A see a guy in white, knee-high tube socks pulled way up to his knees, orthopedic sandals, mustard yellow shorts with 80ies-grade pleats, and a tucked-in polo shirt waiting at a bus stop. He is pushing a few fashion boundaries, but we were in Tenderloin, not Milan. “Those sock!” My passenger says. ”With sandals? And the shirt” He says. “it hurts me in my heart!”. To my surprise I recognize the sock guy as a former neighbor of mine. I tell the passenger I know him. “What’s wrong with him, is he an anarchist?” He asks. |
1 Comment
1/14/2019 05:10:51 pm
It touches my heart to know that there are still people who are compassionate and have the pure heart to experience other's pain. We cannot hide that fact, that even if the country is rich, there will always be people who are less fortunate. I guess being rich country does not make you rich at all if the society or any members of that society has people who is less fortunate. What is the purpose of your treasure or money if you will not give and share. I always believe in the saying "It is better to give than to receive".
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also san franciscoA ridesharing driver, artist and a commentator operating out of San Francisco. A r c h i v e s
September 2016
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