Street People

I've seen people with missing legs and arms. I've seen mothers with dirty little children. I've seen old people. I saw a boy whose faced had been badly burned. There are not a lot of street people here, but as opposed to Ottawa where some people seem to choose to live on the street, the street people here really look like they have suffered from hard times. They really look like life has given them no other choice. A common sight re street people is a mom sitting on the edge of the sidewalk with a young child, or sometimes two. As you pass by she starts sort of bowing forward, repeatatively, from a sitting position while the child sits and plays close by.

Today I saw something that was truely shocking. A man was sitting on the road begging for money. He wore only a pair of shorts and his body was covered in what I can only describe as lumps. Bigger ones were about the size of walnuts, some were not so big. His entire body - arms, legs, torso, head - was covered. As I re-read my description, it doesn`t sound bad, but when I saw him, it took my breath away. I should have given him some money but I didn`t. I think I was too overwhelmed by what I was seeing. I gave one of the street moms money later to try and make up for it.