He is crazy, said the woman clerk while picking out some persimmons for me.
Have you seen him around here before? she asked.
I replied politely that I had. I had seen him a few days earlier, sitting on the sidewalk across from my window. He had been trying to trim his toenails when an elderly lady, speaking in a loud and angry voice told him to go away.
At that time, while I was watching the scene I couldn’t help thinking what a tragedy it is to have no home, no place where you can sit and trim your toenails in peace.
Today, when I heard the lady call him crazy, I found myself reflecting on the same thought: I would probably be considered crazy too if I had no place to call home. If I were not even deemed worthy of sitting on the sidewalk or gazing at a shop window.
Poverty is truly a crime against humanity.
Leave a Reply