Dear Anonymous,
The Rose Man, our street nickname for him, is working hard toward sobriety. I don't know if this is something he has battled over and over and over in his life or if this is a first or second solid attempt. I don't know. He recently shaved his head and I admit, I thought he looked great.
He stops by for a coffee card. He takes very little, though he does indulge in a piece of coffee cake.
It is his value not to take more than he immediately needs. It is his stand. His boundary.He is the anti-hoarder.
And it was a gift to me, that he offered himself in the light for a straight on photo.
I just love him for that moment, this one wildly vulnerable fraction of a second when we are seen...even with the accompanying panic in our hearts and heads about self worth, and appearance, and shame, and pride and EVERYTHING.