I marvel how we city dwellers share the city with homeless people. Two communities living together, sharing the same space, but not interacting with each other very much. It seems wrong, somehow. We have common interests in safety and self-respect. We should interact more, and help each other in times of need. We don't, though, mostly because of the gulf of means, which encourages dependency and inappropriate relationships.
I get nervous when a homeless tent appears too close to my back gate. Such folks are able to monitor my presence, and investigate weaknesses in security. Indeed, several years ago, when I was gone for a number of hours, someone dismantled my back gate and stole a bicycle. There had been someone camped nearby, in a perfect spot to know my comings and goings. And I still remember February of 2022, when a strange woman entered my house and police were required to remove her.
So, in early November, I got nervous when someone camped in a tent near my back gate. I stopped feeding the birds, because they were also camped near the bird feeding spot.
Then, on the evening of November 9th, someone knocked on my front door. It was the homeless person camped in the tent; a woman complaining that her clothes were wet, and wondering if I could dry them out with my clothes dryer. She seemed somewhat mentally-challenged, but also in some trouble. Wet clothes are a menace in the November chill. I told her I would meet her at her campsite and see what her needs were..
Meeting her out back, she said someone had thrown water on her clothes, but I didn't believe her. She was using a two-wheeled rubbish bin as a transport vehicle for her belongings, and I think that the bin had collected rainwater from a storm several days prior. There was no other way for her clothes to get so wet. I determined it was probably best to wash and dry the clothes. So, that's what I did, taking mostly jackets and jeans, and washing and drying them. Her name was Tiffany, and she was tracking the time, because at midnight it would be November 10th, and her 38th birthday.
I took Jasper out for his late-night walk. When we returned, after midnight, she was rolling her belongings away, including clean, dry clothes. She did not return either. So, no dependency or inappropriate relationship to worry about. I was able to help her out of a jam, as a good neighbor should do.
