Homelessness

I have been very aware of the homeless population here in Denver. For years, this issue, which seems increasingly bigger, has weighed heavily on my mind. Living near the shelter I notice the mass quantity of homeless people gathering for shelter and food in the early evening and the early morning. There is also a park nearby which seems to be a gathering place during the day for the more active homeless persons in the community. This morning, as I sat in Starbucks downtown, sipping my tall, skinny Chai, I noticed two teenagers walking past the coffee shop. They wore dirty clothes and had backpacks and bundles of stuff. All their stuff, in transit. I thought, how are kids homeless? Where are their parents? Who lets their child live on the street, with no food or good shoes? Who let them get away?
It's so hard to stay focused on helping others in need when our own plates are so full, but this is a priority. This is our future. These kids. These homeless children walking the earth with no future, are our future.
What are we gonna do about it?

Day to Day adventure and the people in my hood

Today I was driving to the grocery store. Now, I live in really suburban area. I mean, picket fences, elementary schools every mile, a golden retriever with every house, flowers in the yard, and neighbors who actually know and care about each other. Very Rockwell.
So I'm driving to the store and there is a teenager on a bike in front of me. He was weaving back and forth and being a kid. I wanted to go around him but I was intimidated because I really didn't feel comfortable with his swerving, but no big deal - I was 1 block and a half from turning towards the grocery.
As I followed slowly behind him. I noticed a man walking on the other side of the street. As the biker approached the man and passed him, weaving and twisting along the street, the man held up his arms in front of him and pointed his fake, air gun at the boy and pretended to shoot him.
What?
Yes.
Another friendly, suburban neighbor, out for his daily stroll down the block, shot the kid on the bike in his make-believe scenario.
And as I turned the corner, only 20 seconds or so out of my way, I thought "Are these the little things that really provoke people to kill one another if they had the chance?"
Juat a day in the life