re: #525 brookly red

as you like it… if it makes you feel better.

I like the French homeless… a much higher quality of homeless… well educated… there was this homeless guy, in Paris… I would see him year after year, on the same spot, corner of Rue Gare De Lyon and Rue Parrot… panhandling for francs (franc was still the medium of exchange when I first met him) and later of course, euros.

We spoke off and on. He could discuss philosophy and politics with almost anyone, from any culture, and he spoke French, German and English. He got a lot of attention, since Gare De Lyon was the rail hub for travelers and visitors coming and going East.

We spoke off and on, and I asked him once if employment was hard to get, I asked, why he wasn’t working and living on the streets.

He told me, first off, he doesn’t live on the streets, he had a small government supplied flat and got a stipend. He also let me know that he made much more money panhandling.

I haven’t seen him in three years… since last time I was in Paris… I’ll be staying in that quarter in Jan. I hope to say hi, see how he is doing.