Sunday, July 02, 2006

ON THE HOMELESS CULTURE

I've noticed that more than a few people I recognize from the shelter also hit the libraries and I suspect that this is a more general phenomenon, at least in Tucson. The summers here are pretty harsh and the libraries have real AC, not just swamp coolers.

For a few of the people at the shelter, this seems to be a permanent way of life. I've heard several of them greet newcomers with phrases like "You here again?" and so forth and a few have talked about being in the shelter system for years. Some are addicts, some are ex-cons, some are both addicts and ex-cons. A surprising number have some temporary or permanent physical disability, usually with their legs or feet.

No comments: