the rain

We've been having some glorious weather lately. Temperatures around 80 and bright sunshine. The kind of weather that makes you happy to be alive. The kind of weather that makes you come up with any excuse you can to be outside. And then... the rain came. And with it came the cold. There had to be a good 30 degree drop in temperature from when I got to work to when I left work yesterday. I was walking to the train last night in the pouring rain and, despite my umbrella, was getting quite wet. I was so cold that I was shivering. 

So I stopped at the Walgreen's by the train station because I knew that they sell clothes. But I just couldn't bring myself to spend $24.95 on a sweatshirt that I didn't really want and would probably never wear again. I settled on spending $1.95 for a pair of gloves. A very wise decision. 

I got on to the platform, which thankfully was covered, just as the skies really let loose. I thought it had been raining hard before but this was insane. It literally looked like someone was pouring bucket after bucket of water down. I kept thinking to myself that this rain storm would be awesome if I was watching it at home, curled up all warm and dry on the couch. 

Which of course led me to be very thankful that I have a warm and dry house to go home to. I wondered how the homeless people were fairing last night. Did they make it to a viaduct or underpass in time? Did they get caught out in the rain? Were they gathered around a fire in one of those big metal garbage cans or is that something they only did back in the Depression? Being homeless is a life that I know so little about. I wouldn't last one night as a homeless person. 

The whole reason I am writing this blog today though is because all of that reminded me of a conversation I overheard between two homeless men this past fall. 

1st guy: Hey man, where you going?

2nd guy: I'm gonna find someplace to sleep.

1st guy: Man, we already got some place to sleep (indicating the floor of the vestibule of the bank we were next to, where the ATM was located) Let's go get something to drink.

2nd guy: No man, I want a bed.

1st guy: (shrugging) I want a beer.

And then they walked off in different directions.