Bonus story

Imagine being homeless and trying to sleep. Having to deal with people kicking you or trying to rob you or rape you or just making you move somewhere else, like, every night. How do people sleep on the street? I bet you get pretty desperate to get some shut eye. No wonder they are cranky.

I remember a few weeks ago parking down by the Embarcadero to go to the gym. There was a cluster of homeless people camping on a triangle of concrete. As I was getting out of the car a woman sat up. She had been cuddling next to someone, in a sort of double bed with their blankets. She stood up and stretched. She had a pink slip on over a jogging outfit. I kind of dawdled while getting my stuff together so I could watch her routine. She had her shopping cart and she started changing clothes right there. She was a largish black woman. I wanted to give her some privacy, so I moved on.

When I got back all the bed rolls were gone and people were sitting next to their shopping carts, set up for the day. Some had moved on to new places. Others were eating food from their stashes. The woman was still there, in her daytime attire of jeans and a jacket. She was throwing bread crumbs to the pigeons. She looked like she'd had a good night's sleep. Maybe it was because she cuddled all night with the man sitting by her cart. Or that's what I imagined.