Edgar.

he sat on a busy street corner in downtown seattle. Edgar. in front of him lay various items he hoped to pawn off for some food money. as the more elite passed by, Edgar would ask for any change they could spare. few did. we passed by. so often we accustom ourselves to turning our head, ignoring the eyes of the homeless, in the hopes they would pretend that they are okay with us passing by in our ignorance. but Edgar said something as we passed. something different, inaudible. but it necessitated clarification. we passed by.

and then we turned around.

it did not matter to Edgar that we had no money to spare. he was more than happy that we turned around to listen. the next hour was spent listening to Edgar describe his life on the busy streets of downtown seattle. Edgar had a purpose. Edgar had a calling. Edgar's calling was to speak words of truth to those who shared the sidewalks with him night after night. Edgar also had a fear. Edgar's fear was in his lack of safety as he spent his hours on the busy streets of downtown seattle. with tears welling in his eyes, and through cracked voice, Edgar said something i have never heard spoken so emotionally while talking with one who spends their day on the streets of a busy city. 'i don't want to be here,' cried Edgar. but he knew he must. he had a calling. and as if they were spoken in the next breath, i remember the words of Edgar that confound my mind when i hear them coming from those i (we) consider to be the runt of society....locally and globally. 'god is good'.

yes, the poor we will always have with us. because we have much to learn from them.