wants and needs.

walking back to the bus stop from a [palm] sunday evening vesper i attended at a popular downtown church for research, i stroll michigan avenue at brisk pace to keep myself warm in the dropping temperatures, which no longer reflect the warmth of day. the sky is a deep navy, and despite no visible remnants of a sun which had set a while ago, the light refuses to die, now gradually fusing with silvery moon beams.

as i walk, a man a few paces in front of me carrying a small pizza box in one hand walks over to a street person huddled against a building. the pizza-box man offers the box to the street peron and brief dialogued is exchanged, although i am too far to catch it. pizza-box man walks away with box still in hand, and as i pass the street person, all i can hear is the continuous muttering of i can't stand this place, i can't stand this place...

on the next block i catch up with pizza-box man, who walks only five or six paces ahead of me and again with box in hand, approaches another street person, this one with cardboard sign and change cup, huddled against a building along the sidewalk. pizza-box man offers his box to the street person, who replies with no! i eat that every day! pizza-box man laughs and stunned by the rejection, trots away to tell his friends i can't even give this away! as i pass the street person, i don't want no fucking pizza! he yells at pizza-box man. it seems that in this day and age, beggars really can be choosers.

if there was less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world.
: wilde.