contrasts

Ing reminded me:

Some years ago, before the new San Jose City Hall was built, on my way to teach I would step over homeless people morning and night. In the evenings, they would get ready for the night, making their 'beds' using old sheets that they put down on the pavement, or on the steps of overfilled shelters and churches. In the mornings, still on their makeshift beds, they would have breakfast and get ready for the day. I especially remember a woman braiding her daughter's hair on the sidewalk. It was such a familiar scene, made public by circumstance. Just like Ing, I would try not to step on the sheets, or look directly at the people. I didn't want to invade their privacy.

Then I would drive 20 minutes down the street and teach at the private university. There the groundskeepers are in the habit of wrapping grass clippings in large sheets of burlap, leaving bundles all across the lawns before coming back to pick them up.

And I used to think to myself that those sheets of burlap were in better condition than the sheets used by the homeless people in downtown San Jose.