I took the bus downtown today, and it took the usual 20 minutes or so. I like to sit at the very back of the bus – not because I’m a punk or anything, but because it’s easier to see the traffic and such. Most times I don’t listen to music, so I guess if someone wanted to start talking to me they could. And that’s what happened today.
A somewhat older gentleman got on shortly after I did, and came to the back of the bus and sat down a couple seats away from me. He was carrying a black shoulder bag with a bottle inside, and he took a drink. I noticed that his dirty hands shook quite badly. He kept rubbing his face too, like something was wrong. Can you visualize my first impression? Not the best right?
A few minutes later he leaned over and said “how’s it going today?” If you’ve ever been on public transit and seen this kind of situation, this is the part where most people ignore the man. I said, “not bad, yourself?” and we started chatting. He told me that he was homeless, and that it’s been a bad winter for him. He joked that “there is 7000 homeless people in Edmonton, or 7000 + 1 if you count me!” He told me that six months ago he had a stroke (I believe that’s what he said) and that as a result the left side of his body was numb, and it also contributed to the shakes. He explained that he needed an address more than anything. He applied six weeks ago for what sounded like “hay shhh” that would give him $1100 a month to pay for a place to live. He said he was having problems though, because he needed three references and all he had was a bank account (the bank would be a reference). And he admitted that his drinking had resulted in him losing some friends who could have been references.
He didn’t ask about me, which was fine. I think more than anything he just wanted someone to talk to. I got the impression that he knew he had problems, and that he was trying to overcome them but life just kept kicking him down. I hope in some small way my taking the time to listen made him feel better.
MasterMaq's Blog 
Funny Mack. I have a parallel story from today. I was at Tim Hortons on 99ths street and 51st ave. There was an obvious homeless man, who was loitering and the staff asked him to leave. He refuted and said that he was just looking to gain some warmth. I passed him $10.00, and suggested he buy a coffee and some lunch.
If you can believe it, the Tim’s staffer actually looked at me and said that was "not appropriate" or something to that affect, and suggested that he leave regardless. I was actually shocked to the point of speachless, and thankfully he just forced his way to the counter and bought something regardless.
It was weird, yet I felt rewarded, while I drove away.
Incredible how some people act isn’t it? I guess on some level I can understand the frustration the Tim Horton’s employee must have felt, as I am sure they deal with loitering all day. That’s no excuse though! A human being is a human being.
Hey Mack,
Hope things are well with you. I must admit it’s been sometime since I have visited your blog. It has become quite the monster! ….and I mean that in a good way.
Just thought I’d let you that the "hey-shhh" program that your homeless friend mentioned is actually a governement program that helps out severly handicapped Albertans. AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) has been around for some time now and is often criticized for it’s inability to reach the people who need it most in a timely matter. I’m not an expert on it but I did have a family member who counted on AISH to make it by. More info can be found at http://www.seniors.gov.ab.ca/aish/#1.
If your ever on the southside be sure to drop by the ProTraining office for a game of foosball.
Greg – thanks for that, I was going to try and figure out what he meant. Now you’ve saved me the trouble!
I will for sure stop by one of these days 🙂