Every afternoon on the way home, I would see a Mexican old man selling flowers and bags of oranges at the corner of Jefferson and La Cienega. He would hold a bunch of flowers, walking from car to car, trying to make a living. Every time I saw him coming near me, I would lower my head and pretend that I didn’t see him even though I was struggling with myself inside. Each time he was rejected, he would walk slowly back toward his basket with bent backs and lowered head. Seeing this, I felt even more sorry for him.
I can be a bit stingy when it comes to giving out money. Whenever I saw young beggars sitting on the street begging for money, I would be upset with them. They have healthy bodies and four limbs. Why couldn’t they find a job instead of living off people’s charity? Even simple construction work can help them make meals. But in this case, it’s simply an old man selling stuff. I know only a few bucks can help him a great deal. But I really don’t know what I would do with flowers and 15 oranges. So everyday the struggle continues as I’m driving home.
*sigh* Those are the imperfections of our society. (But at least I hope we’re on our way toward utopias promised by all the different ideologies, such as true democracy or communism.)
Well, I see these people all the time, and I felt differently about them. The younger ones, I simply just ignore them, because apparently they’re satisfied or choose to maintain that life-style. For the older ones, I feel sad…because, for one reason or another, they can’t enjoy the love and care of a family that can make ends meet. For the handicapped ones…these are the ones that I feel uneasy with, as I know that they have obvious limitations…but I would also think if they really have to resort to that, or are they taking advantage of others’ compassion and simply gave into that life-style.
Well, as a whole, I just simply feel sorry for the society that’s apparently the best mankind can conjure up. *double sigh*
Oh! Ehhhhh…then I guess you should stay away from the area around Alameda…cuz I see too many of those on my way to and from work. *shakes head*
But…props on your warm heart, it’s not too easy to find people who would care for a complete stranger in this cruel world. because I’ve also witnessed individuals who would do very mean things to them. (Such as spitting, calling names, throwing things…) *sigh*
I guess in a way we all feel sorry for the older people. But that makes me wonder, what happened to him so he had to do this? Did he just slacked off when he was young? Did his family burden him too much? Did his kids not take good care of him? Or did he gambled/drink off his money? I wonder. But at the mean time, cheer up, Amber. Hey, if you feel too bad about it, buy some flowers for Simpson the next time you drove by him. 😉