Homeless Hoopla

Doesn't she look so little? This was our first camping trip with Fi. I think it was July or August... I can't even remember at this point. We went to Oswald Lake in SE Oregon. It was at a pretty high elevation and really cold at night, but a lot of fun. We went with three of Fiona's friends and their parents....Very interesting. I can't wait to go again, weather permitting.

So, I have to vent. Apparently, Portland, is the best place in the country to be a homeless person. There are so many bleeding hearts here that we just support the homeless without any opposition. I have definitely become a little jaded on the topic since I moved here. Hell, ten years ago I couldn't pass a homeless person on the street without giving them money. Now, I threaten them within an inch of their lives for ringing my doorbell and spare changing me in the privacy of my own home. That is absolutely unacceptable.

Last week, two days after I had just cleaned out my cupboards and had two sacks full of food, someone knocks at the door. I look out to see a shopping cart at the end of my sidewalk and decide not to answer. The knocking continues and it gets louder, then the doorbell rings...Persistent little bugger! I have both of the girls, so I hesitantly answer. This woman asks me if I have any plastic or glass that she can have. I look at her and then I look right next to her shopping cart at my empty recycling bins turned upside down that were just emptied that morning and say "uh, no!" She then proceeds to ask for money. I, in turn, offer up my two bags of food. She has the nerve to ask what is in them and if she can see it. I said "no!!!' and slammed the door in her face. How ungrateful. This is how the homeless is Portland are, though. They are greedy jerks.

That is the third time someone has come to my door asking for money or totally tweaking asking to mow my lawn in the past year. I am not down with that. They are lucky I don't believe in having a gun, because they wouldn't make it off of my property, if I did.

Today, I was on my way to pick up Kris from work, when I was stopped at a red light in China Town. I looked over at the line wrapped around the building of a local mission.....So many people waiting for a hot meal, all smoking cigarettes. Are you kidding me?? What do smokes cost these days, 4.00 a pack? That is enough to feed a person for a whole day if you eat fruit, veggies, bread and fresh foods. I feed my whole family for about 15.00 a day and we eat mostly organic, so i know it is possible. But, these people would rather keep the money that they guilt the naive few in to giving them so that they can smoke and drink and support their drug habits, while we the taxpayers feed them, clothe them and pay for their health care expenses that they incur from abusing their bodies. That is screwed up.

Ah, I just needed to get that off of my chest. I am done feeling sorry for them. I can't help someone who can't help themselves. Crap, I tell you!!