Today while running errands downtown I saw:

 1. A man carrying a huge garbage bag full of recyclables riding his bike the wrong direction down Fort Street. He was weaving in traffic. He looked like he didn’t want to stop because he might spill his load.

 2. A man pushing his shopping cart down the middle of Cook Street, just like he was a regular vehicle in traffic. I gave the second man a look, a smile and then a wave. The smile he gave me back was the warmest thing I’ve felt all day.

 This city needs to wake up. Homelessness and poverty are huge problems. I don’t know what the solution is but it sure as hell isn’t ignoring the problem, or arguing about where all the homeless people come from.