It Is Raining In Los Angeles

I live in the desert, the Northeast part of Los Angeles County. It is freezing and it is raining. It has rained very hard and people have been evacuated from some of the mountain areas. There is a lot of rain and even more coming.

If you are homeless, Los Angeles isn't a bad place to be as it goes. I lived in Boston and that is bad place to be homeless. I used to watch the homeless put cardboard boxes above the vents for the subway. That is how they stayed warm. Or at least as warm as they stayed. I got frostbite in Massachusetts. I didn't much care for it.

I like the heat. I don't mind it over a 100 although I find anything over 115 to be too hot. I hate the cold and I hate being cold. I would really hate being homeless in Boston. I don't like the snow either.

I spent about a week on the streets a long time ago. I was not alone; but, we had no place to stay. It sucked. It is hard to understand what it means to not have a place to stay if you never been there. It can lead to anxiety and desperation. Worse than that is that after awhile people just accept that they are going to be homeless and they stop trying and focus on surviving.

I work downtown and am not infrequently asked for money. Sometimes I give it. I have had people tell me that the person getting the money will only use it for alcohol or drugs. I neither know nor care how they use it. Homeless people frequently ask me for a cigarette, I often give them two.

There are times when I will not give anything. I will not give to people begging by the freeway entrance as it endangers people. I will not give to anyone who stops me while I am in my car unless it is parked. I will not give to anyone who interrupts me while I am speaking to someone else.

I think at this time of year (and I don't mean Christmas), the winter, it is good time to give a buck or two. It is cold out there and wet. If the money is used to buy some alcohol, at least they will feel the cold a little less.