My hopes for community respite for the houseless was dashed during a conversation with a grandmother surviving on a tarp surrounded by her grandkid’s fur animals. “It’s all I have left, she said. The rangers won’t let us pitch tents and our tarp shelters must be down first thing in the morning. I’m surviving though.”
Dennis was another elder I met on my burrito drop. He had a pack of wipes on his picnic table that came from Chico Friends on the Streets. Dennis said, “You have to get there right at noon on Sunday to get these.”
The next picnic table over was Rick, also a destitute senior citizen, who played me “Puff the Magic Dragon” on his recorder. He was thankful for the porta-potty and hand sanitation station the city dropped near the market about two weeks ago.
Summary: Three senior citizens giving thanks and praise for having access to rudimentary health and sanitation. Grandma says, “It’s better than nothing.”
