The Shopping Cart People

"THE SHOPPING CART PEOPLE" I've been in and out of this apartment house for months. I've met interesting people, some married, some single, some with fits of violence. some with drug and alcohol problems and some with financial problems. I even talked most nights with a man who was released from prison after 23 years for murder. most often though, the homeless around the churches would accompany me through the nights I couldn't sleep. as the world pushed them to the curb, they all held onto what was left of their life. I got along with everyone as I normally do; I could because I at different points in my life had their eyes. we all looked up at the same sky wondering what life was going to give us next. we all shared the thoughts everyone seems to forget they themselves have. one morning I was awoken to the sound of Johnny Cash. I thought it to be a car passing by but there were none. I thought it to be a neighbor above, next to me or across playing the sound but again, I was wrong. it wasn't until I went to the car port and saw the gathering of the homeless near the farthest part of the lot. the radio blasted with Cash's "hurt." they all sang and together they knew that even though the world threw them away, they would someday, somehow, find a way. By: Chicano Eddie 9-16-2016