My town, like most, has its token crazy person who everyone is scared to encounter. Ours is a middle aged homeless man, long grey/black hair, worn out camo clothing. He is known for sitting down in the middle of any sidewalk to play his busted up acoustic guitar, where he screams vularities at anyone who tries to pass and threatens violence on anyone who dares stop and listen to him play.

I pulled up at a red light today. He was standing at the crosswalk, angrily screaming and gesturing at the vehicle in front of me. As traffic started moving, he looked over at me. We made eye contact. I didn't look away. He gave me a sort of half wave. So I smiled. He nodded. I drove off.

I've spent a lot of my life feeling like I don't know where I'm supposed to be, or what I should be doing.... but every now & then, for a moment, I know right where I'm supposed to be & what I should be doing. And it's so simple.

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you have gained a useful ally in the zombie apocalypse

I hope so!

Decades ago as a child, on my way home from school walking, we saw him playing his guitar everyday. One daybwe decided to hold hands and dance around him in a circle while he played.

He started aging louder and louder and singing louder on the top of his lungs. We got so hyped and sled up spinning around him until we all fell down and laughed and he laughed too and was so happy.

Then we went home.

I love that imagery ๐Ÿ’œ

Love this. I used to work in the local grocery and we had one that came in, he'd usually come through my line with his cans of tuna and vienna sausages. He always paid with filthy dollar bills and mostly change, I treated him same as everyone else and never had a problem ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ. Compassion and empathy go a long way in my opinion. Everyone has problems, they just look different.