Guy in the Alley

Some guy was laying down in the alley. Not that unusual for homeless person, you're thinking? Yeah, but this guy was in the very middle of the alley, smell of piss permeating the air. The city would send a street cleaner through several times a week, blowing sudsy water around. It didn't help.

So here was some guy in the stinky alley, in the middle of the day. I was going to have to step over him

"Hey, are you all right?"

He opened one eye, lifted his head. "I'm good." But I could see a string of melted gum sticking to the back of his head.

It seems like such a good idea to get homeless people to tell us what they need. But like many people, homeless or not homeless, we don't always know what we need.