The displaced ramblings of a reformed urbanite

How do I see myself? Do Others see me? Do I see other people?

I’m sure everyone thinks about other people, family members, and close colleagues in some fashion. Most people generally think positively of others or pray for their healthy outcomes. Others may not. Some questions I have asked myself:

Do I have a positive comment for someone else other than myself?
Do I generalize certain people within unique categories or give them a descriptive label?
How is it that “people,” and I am generalizing here, not all, can walk past something or someone and not give it a glance or acknowledge it being there?
Do I walk by discarded items, saying/thinking, “someone will take care of that,” without giving it a second thought?

We must all admit that whoever or whatever somebody is, “They (someone is) a very busy individual.” It’s always “Someone” or “Somebody” who is left to handle the messy stuff.

While I was walking on a busy street in downtown Chicago, I watched a man who, at least in my mind, appeared to be homeless due to his disheveled appearance. I watched from across the street as he was hunting through the trash bin. I could only imagine what he was hunting. He knew the object he was hunting. There were people walking past him, looking straight ahead. Careful not to veer your eyes for a glance in his direction. You think he may ask you for something, like directions? Where is “Someone” to take care of this person?

That individual and others like him were the reason I had gone to Chicago with my camera. I had taken my camera to Chicago on a few occasions to photograph its many tall, stately buildings, architecture, and public art. You know. The eye-pleasing images. Those magnificent monoliths called skyscrapers. No! Business centers, hotels, and apartment/condo units. I think there are more people, in numbers, living in downtown Chicago than the number of people who actually work in downtown Chicago. Wait! I’m getting sidetracked.

I needed to see individuals like him so I could appreciate the condition of my life. I needed to see individuals like him to understand how fragile these material possessions are.

“Someone” took care of that messy situation.

He was treated with kindness by a stranger who presented him with a gift, an offering.

He and so many like him are living in the wild of these urban concrete jungles. These people are invisible to some pedestrians.

The pedestrians are not invisible to them.

They, too, are residents of downtown Chicago. Many people, strangers and regulars, walk through their living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens every day.

These people are walking alongside the residents and workers of downtown Chicago.

We throw away those damaged things. Those broken things. Things we don’t need or no longer want. Those items that are taking up space.

Maybe it’s the same for some humans who are thrown out like trash. Those who are damaged. Those broken things.

Items we no longer want. Things that are taking up space. Those broken items.