(no subject)

[mallorys_camera]

Is this not the most romantic photograph you've ever seen?

I just love my camera. It is impossible to take bad pictures with it – mainly because it shoots at such high resolution and its shutter speed is so fast that even if the overall shot is shit, if there's just one little detail that's good, you can blow it up to 12" X 12" and call it a keeper!

(Of course, we ran into the bride and groom on Cannery Row last night and I was in the process of eating a bag of Blair's Habanero/Parmesan Cheese potato chips and thus had breath that could kill at forty paces. The bride gave me a big hug and didn't even gag when I breathed straight in her face – now that's good manners!)

The Little Store had a good but not great weekend – indifferent Friday, average Saturday, strong Sunday. The weather helped. However today we are back to unrelenting grey and gloom.

Robin wrote


A sudden swerve to the side, narrowly avoiding an oncoming truck. “That guy almost hit us..! Jeez…," my brother said, leaning back in his chair, sweat dripping down his cheek. “So what do you want to eat?” my brother asked, his hands clamped firmly down on the steering wheel, his eyes drifting lazily across the road.

“I don’t know.” I replied cheek resting on my hand.

The radio echoed the raucous music of Bob Marley, his elated sounds loud in our ears.

“Chinese?” he asked, pulling up at a red light.

“Sure,” I said, running a hand through my hair.

Max nodded, and headed off to the center of Palo Alto, University Street.

###

University Street is a nice place, with a lot of small shops and cafes, restaurants and museums, and bookstores and movie theatres. It had a clean street, with lights at nearly every corner. Many jubilant people filled the street, and strolled the street peering into various buildings. But it also had many less fortunate people. Homeless people were scattered about, begging for change and sitting on benches here and there. Some were quite emaciated, while others seemed like they were living fine. But there was one area in particular. A red -bricked bank stood, a door on the left. Beside it was a small group of benches, three to be exact. Covered by three palm trees, and a small growing pine tree. There was one homeless man sitting there. In fact, that’s what this story is about.

My brother and I had parked the car, and were now safely on our way down the street. We were crossing the street, when my brother spotted a homeless man begging for change. My brother never gives homeless people money, but often buys them food so that they don’t spend it on beer. We headed into a bagel shop, and my brother got his sandwich split in two. As we headed out, I wondered if this was such a good idea.

When we returned, beside the man was a woman. Now, the woman had deep brown skin, with short black hair tied back into a ponytail, with yellow-like eyes. She had pretty bad teeth, crooked and very dirty. She was around five foot six or so, and was kind of corpulent. She was wearing a gray shirt, with jeans and sandals on. The man beside her had a blue and green jacket on that was quite dirty, with long yellow hair and wrinkled skin and brown eyes. He looked around fifty or more. He was around six foot three or so, and had several bags of trash near him.

“Hey! Spare some change, will you?” asked the woman, as my brother took a seat on the bench adjacent to hers.

My brother smiled lightly, and replied, “I actually just brought half a sandwich to give to this man.”

The man's eyes seemed to glint as he realized the situation, and turned his head in our general direction. “Oh come on, I need that!” said the woman, extending her hands.

My brother shrugged, and gave her half. She began scarfing it down as my brother sat there. She noticed the other half of the sandwich, and grinned. “Oh can I have that, please?”

My brother shook his head. “This is for the man. You already had your half.”

She looked at him pleadingly, as she stammered quickly “Oh please! I give all my money away to the children. Twenty dollar bills!”

My brother shook his head, chuckling, his teeth shining in the sun. A strange aroma passing by from a nearby Chinese food place. “Why do you give them money?” he asked, as she blinked a bit confused.

“Why, cause their children! They come by, and I just give them money!”

Max shrugged. “Where are you two from?” he asked casually.

“Colorado,” said the man quietly, while the woman looked insulted.

“I’m from America!” she said angrily, angered by his inference.

My brother blinked. “I mean where in America.” He said, rephrasing his words.

“I ain’t from no where! Just America,” she said, wiping her mouth.

My brother shrugged. “I’m going to give the sandwich to the man now, okay?” he said.

“Aw no, don’t do that! He had chicken wings, I swear! Hundred of ‘em, and he wouldn’t share!” she said, holding her hand up high to signify the large amount.

“I’m not sure if I believe you,” said my brother frankly.

“Aw, I haven’t eaten forever! I’m thin as a bone, I swear!” she said.

My brother shook his head, extending the sandwich to the man.

“Can you put it on the bench? Or one of the bags?” said the man quietly.

My brother blinked, and shrugged. “Sure, but why?” he asked.

The man pointed to his hands. “I can’t touch your hands,” he said.

My brother raised an eyebrow, a bit confused, as he decided to investigate further. “Why is that?” he asked.

“Because of the rain," said the man quietly, squirming.

My brother blinked. “The rain?” he asked.

The man nodded. “The rain.”

My brother quietly asked why, and the man began stammering on about a conspiracy and numbers. It was all too confusing, so my brother and me left, after dropping the sandwich on one of the bags. That happened on my birthday, and it showed me how unfortunate some people can be.

Not bad for a thirteen year old. If he wants to turn pro, we're gonna have to do something about those adverbs and qualifiers (though who could not love "kind of corpulent") but on the whole I thought it was exceptionally well-observed and showed real narrative punch. Excellent dialogue! Dialogue is hard.
Max has buying food for homeless people since he first started getting an allowance at age 7. In fact, that's actually one of the reasons why we moved away from the SF Bay Area – the number of homeless people really, really upset him and there was nothing I could say that could explain the phenomenon to a sensitive, compassionate little boy.

Comments

[banocrates.livejournal.com]

He has a gift.

I think that photo could make a believer out of the most jaded of cynics.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

It is moving, isn't it?

[banocrates.livejournal.com]

Which? the photo or the writing?

I'm thinking both ... !

[bel-ebat.livejournal.com]

that is excellent writing! and the 'kind of corpulent' brought a smile to my face.

i think there is just something much more fascinating/unreal and confusing about homeless people before we are so desensitized to them. the bay area does have so many- something that made an impression on me when i visited san francisco for the first time in middle school. when i returned from the trip, i wrote a one-act play for a school assignment about a homeless young woman i had seen sitting on the steps of a bookstore. she was pretty and completely absorbed with scribbling in a shabby notebook- in the play i made her a woman who rapidly created different personas in an attempt to charm the young men who walked past. reading robin's work reminded me of my own confusion and interest in the situation at the same age.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

What a great idea for a play!

Yeah, I think the weather in Northern California -- mild compared with other places -- attracts an unusually large number of homeless people. Or at least keeps them more visable.

[nokomisjeff.livejournal.com]

He is an excellent writer.

Most of my LJ friends are much better writers than I am, which is OK by me. I learn a lot, just reading y'all.

Aloha,

Jeff

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

He is a good writer, isn't he? Thanks.