Homeless student seeking to fulfill mother’s wish
He looks like any other university student. Except that Talor sleeps in a makeshift tent on campus and washes himself each day in the bathroom next to...
“Chocolate Ice”
“Chocolate Ice”–that’s what people used to call my dear friend Terrence back in high school, because he was so crazy about ice skating. In...
“I was trying to hold onto my humanity. I was sick of fighting.”
He was drafted and sent to fight in a war he didn’t believe in. “I was just 19 years old when I went to Vietnam,” Israel tells me. “I ...
Walter’s beautiful journey
My dear friend Walter had the biggest smile when he showed me the keys. He couldn’t wait to give me a tour of his new place. A year ago he was enthu...
“She never held it against me, she loved me unconditionally.”
One morning I went to the local grocery to pick up a few needed items. It was still early morning so there were hardly any customers. It felt like it...
“What makes you happy?”
I ran into Tommy again. He felt ashamed of his smell and appearance. All the more reason for me to sit down next to him. We sat together on the sidew...
MacGyver of Skid Row
While I was in Skid Row I ran into my friend Terrance. He used to be a successful computer engineer making a six figure salary. When his wife left him...
“I always had problems with low self esteem”
I first saw Tom sitting alone behind a gas station in Rowland Heights. I got him some dinner and sat down with him. He seemed to really appreciate hav...
He had these sad soulful eyes.
He had these sad soulful eyes. He was sitting on the sidewalk gazing into the distance, but not really looking at anything. Just a blank, empty stare....
“Do you not hate poetry?”
I saw Kenny again. Standing alone among the crowd. It seemed everyone was going one way, and he was standing facing them. He looked more tired and dej...