FRIENDS:Ships(Passing in the Night)

When I was a teenager my friend was writing an article for the paper about homelessness. She was all of 5 feet. For four or five nights I accompanied her Downtown as a protective escort while she Lois Lane'd it into shelters and dark alleys in the middle of where not to be at the wrong time to interview a variety of folks. Im honestly unsure of my thoughts on the subject before that night. Considering what a brat I now know I was most likely it was a pretty stupid-yet standard-uninformed flappinlipcrap. Its an experience I've treasured now for decades. There were the ladies working at the shelter with an heir of prisonguard like power and a collegiate confidence yet still humble. Turns out they were once in the situation as the population they now looked after and had stories of survival and the compassion of strangers that were lifechanging like lifetime movies of the week. They gave strong testimony to the power of will and human conviction along with being the posterboys for the not enough wonderful small private and govt resources to help one overcome such horrible hardships. There were the families of proud embarassed fathers and viciously protective mothers. There was the mentally incompetent and physically disabled who refused to be helped. There was a definate protective shield around them from the community as a whole. Still we were always informed that they usually always give in when the weather attacks, Unfortunately its still too late for dozens and dozens every year