They live on 15th just off Mission, on the sidewalk across the street from an auto body shop. Sometimes four or five of them. Mostly men, but there's a woman or two now and then. I think all of them are black, but who knows what color a person's skin is when he's huddled under a blanket and you can't even see the tip of his shoe. They build a little camp out of shopping carts, parts of cardboard boxes, blankets, and each other. Once in a while the police come by and tell them they can't park there anymore, but usually they're there, blocking the sidewalk, puttering, snoozing, living rain or shine. I see them every morning on my way to the bus. Today one guy was sitting up with his legs under a blanket leaning against the wall of the lithograph shop while his friend, a woman, stuck a syringe into his arm and pushed the plunger.
Posted by allison at July 2, 2004 06:46 PM