So Fast

Too Fast by Kaze

A man comes up behind me and I jump.

“Sorry,” I say. “You came up too fast. Old people jump you know.

We  laugh and he says, “I’ll tell you what’s too fast. My being on the streets.”

He pauses and then continues, “I had the same job behind the counter of a hardware
store for nine years. I got up early every day to be on time. I had a TV and cell phone and was thinking of getting some management training. Then the store when out of business and I had to give up the car payments, then utilities, and finally my apartment. I hung on for two months but couldn’t find another job. Before I know it I put my stuff at a friend’s house and I hit the streets. Two months and I am out here standing in line for food. It was that fast. And I don’t know what I did wrong. I didn’t get drunk or gamble or throw my money away. I was making it fine.”

Belligerently, he looks me in the face and says “Tell me what I did wrong.”

Everyone is nodding their heads. Then they look at me and I don’t have an answer.

“I don’t know why it happens so fast but there are going to be a lot more people on the street for that very reason. People can make good choices and bad things can still happen,” I say. “And people who make poor decisions can also end up here on the streets. I worry about seniors, and one parent families and those who are mentally ill. Banding together as a community seems to be the only way we survive in houses or on the streets.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I’ve found some good people on the streets and we help each other out. But none of us know how to get out of here.”

On my way home, the question keeps turning over in my head, “What if good decisions aren’t enough? What will I do?”