His reaction is to tip his hat to me when I go by. And to bless me.

Emcye, you’re avatar is new, no? Love it.

You’re paying attention to the right things, Mugsy. I know that area on Piedmont you’re talking about, and one doesn’t have to look far to find others. There’s a guy at the foot of the escalator leading down to the BART station on Powell St., right next to the cable car turnaround, who always has Street Sheets in his hand and a friendly smile on his face. He’s a hard-worker, too. You’ve given me an idea, you good-hearted woman!

Remember the time when you and I had our little discussion over Dr. Mark Kline? I guess I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, throwing a few crumbs his way and you finally said, “Well, so you’re a good egg.” After reading the above I’d say you’re the good egg a thousand times over!

Mugsy, That’s so nice of you, and to think of the man having a respite and some food. Feel so sorry for the homeless…and agree that those selling the ‘Street Sheet” are working hard. When first moved to SF was appalled by how many were on the street so started a policy of giving x amt to the first person who asked every day and then said to the others that because there are so many have that policy but hopefully tomorrow I’d encounter them first. Over ten years talked to a lot of the homeless and at least 30% are vets, and many others just circumstances. A woman whose last three paychecks bounced, then the company closed its doors, and she wound up within months living in her car….then got parking tickets she couldn’t afford to pay so it was impounded and she was on the street, etc. At least Gavin Newsom has been very activist and has gotten a lot of people into housing. And in SF there were some homeless ‘adopted’ by the neighborhood, one man started doing odd jobs, people would give him clothes, money and food and encourage him, and eventually he did get into housing. He’d gone to Berkeley and was a nice guy….but after his wife and two kids were killed in an accident he just spiraled down. And now tent cities are sprouting up all over due to the epidemic of foreclosures: http://www.rogerstriffler.com/AIDSRide7/31-Tent%20City.jpg http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/tent-a07.jpg http://frecklescassie.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/tent-city.JPG Wish Obama would start a program of building those tiny studio cottages like they did after the 1906 Earthquake…it got people out of the elements and safe, and created building jobs, and when times got better many of those units wound up as playhouses/storage sheds in people’s backyards, etc. http://www.littlediggs.com/littlediggs/images/asset_medium2.jpg And from the example of the City being nearly destroyed in 06 and grandly rebuilt by 1915 for the World’s Fair with incredible designs proves what can be done with a plan and some leadership. There is so much need today for emergency housing, and also for jobs….I don’t know why Congress can’t put together a program that would solve both problems when they can give $700B to the banks that created much of this mess. If anyone in Northern Calif ever wants to create something like that they can present a plan to the Tides Foundation to become a non-profit under their umbrella and get office space support in the Presidio. http://www.tides.org/ And then can use The Foundation Center [one of largest in US] resources to get grant money easier as the majority of grants go to non-profits and organizations not individuals. http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/ Three cheers, Mugsy.