Dear Anonymous,
'I'm not lettin' go of my dream to be a homeless advocate. When I was usin' drugs I was no help to ANYONE. I was no help to ME.'
I pause. I consider how hard it is to hold onto a dream when there's a lot going for you, lots of advantages. I pause. I reflect how hard it can be to have ANY dream out here.
He shows up and finds clothing for guys too cold, or too beside themselves to even try. He helps hand out socks. Takes a donated package of combs with him to distribute.
'Buddy, take them hand warmers, you gonna need 'em with the rain comin' in.'
or 'Take this belt. You GOTTA keep them pants up. You don't want no indecent exposure citations.'
As we chat, a wonderful Dear Anonymous stops by with new guitar strings for a friend out here who was playing his 6 string guitar with only four strings. Thank you. That was appreciated....and we took note of that connection.
Mike says something like, 'You know if someone pulls up at the coffee shop and us guys on the street treat him like he's different, like he's not just another guy we ADD to the problem.'