I did something quite unexpected today. On my daily trip walking up to the corner store, I happen to see a homeless looking fellow sprawled out on the cement in a shaded area along Sunset Blvd…. He didn’t ask for food or money but as I was in the store, I asked for a separate bag and bought the guy a sub sandwich along with a Gatorade…Oh yeah, and a Quaker Honey & Nut Granola bar(those are yummy).

On my way to the store the guy was asleep [actually he looked half dead] but on my way back he was sitting up so I wasn’t really able to just sneak up to him and leave it without him knowing-that was the original plan. And so, I walked by him, slowing down just long enough to hand the guy the bag. He didn’t say “thanks” in words but his body language and facial expression did… and that made me feel good. [Pinning the Good Samaritan Badge on myself]

Normally, I do not give food or money to people on the streets who ask. Perhaps because this guy didn’t have to ask was why I did it. Who knows…Maybe I’m a nice guy after all.

There’s a lady who stands outside this corner store every single day and as I walk in, she asks for spare change. I’ve been ignoring her for about a year now and she annoys the hell out of me by continuing to ask. It’s now to the point where I’m actually WAITING for her not to ask and then I’ll give her some money.–I know, It’s now a sick game… But I’m anxiously waiting for the day she doesn’t ask. For the last 365 consecutive days, that has yet to happened. Truth be told…She doesn’t really look like she needs the money. It’s really people like her that make me not want to offer help to others. Silly, I know.

Los Angeles has a pretty bad homeless problem. Sometimes I wonder what road a person took to lead them to that path to be homeless. I know many of the street-dwelling people are mentally ill and need help but the ones that aren’t?…Truth be told, I just wonder how many moves I am away from Homelessness-Checkmate. Some of my pawns are already gone as it is.

Enough deep thoughts…Hockey game tonight at 9:30pm. It’s been so hot here that I’m looking forward to the ice time more than usual.