The other day I was asked if I could get some Zanax for someone. I am not friends with this person, nor have I even had a real conversation with them, just the casual hello here and there. I told him I had nothing to do with that stuff and he left it alone.
It got me thinking, is that what younger kids think of me? Because I have tattoos and piercings, that means I do drugs? I am not saying I am opposed to drug use, I could honestly care less. I am just marveling at how fast people these days seem to judge a person solely by their appearance. If you actually know me, or have at least had one good conversation with me, you probably know that I am straight edge, and I have never drank or smoked anything in my life.
On another note, today I was sitting outside of the Starbucks at Cinema City in Yorba Linda when a homeless man walked up. He sat a few chairs down from me, and we started having a conversation. I invited him to sit with me and he accepted the offer and had a seat at the table with me. He offered me a gingersnap cookie, which I politely declined, explaining that I was vegan and the cookies were most likely not. He asked what a vegan was so I started explaining veganism to him. He understood and didn't question my decision, just realizing it was how I wanted to live, and knowing there was nothing he could do to change that. We got to talking about films, the Scorcese film Taxi, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and V for Vendetta. It hit me that this man, named Stan, was just a normal person, just like any of us. Society looks down upon him just because he does not have a home. He talked about how he lived in Ireland until he was 12 years old and then his parents deceived him into moving to America, which they both knew he openly opposed. He didn't explain why or how he got to being homeless, but I can only imagine it has something to do with being in Jail, because he briefly talked about his experiences whist in jail. For the most part, Stan was a very nice guy. Sometimes he was very crude in his actions, but for the most part he was completely lucid, sober, and felt alright with his circumstances. He makes money by recycling, not begging. That says a lot because it is not easy to do that, but it is easy to stand on a curb and ask for change. I feel he shows real character and courage, and today's youth could learn a lot from2 Stan.
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