the lone man

Tyler pulled his loose coat tightly around his thin form as he walked down the street. . He shivered. The wind was chill this evening; he would have to get under cover soon. The breeze ruffled his ragged brown hair and he reached up and whipped it out of his hazel eyes. Where would it be tonight? He checked the sign at the end of the block. West 49th and Powell, not a bad stopping place. The next alley would be fine.

The alley was a place he had been before. It was behind a small mall with a grocery and
a 2nd hand store. There may be goodies back there, if he was the first to arrive. Tyler looked around to make sure he wasn’t seen then ducked to his left into the alley. He always looked though people usually did not “see” a homeless person. He was used to being ignored.

The dead end alley was one lane wide. Delivery trucks backed into it at one end.
He would be safe near the back with the cardboard boxes. He put his bag down near the back wall and arranged the boxes around to hide himself. He set up camp laying out his
Sleeping bag, candle, and what foodstuffs he had found. Now he could go search for treasures.

Tyler approached the dumpster between the back doors of the two businesses.
Treasure hunting was fun and could be very profitable. First would be some tidbits of food if possible, clothing after. Perhaps there would be a coat. He could use a warmer coat. He could never tell if he would find something useable or not. Perhaps it would be a bag with a million in it. He grinned broadly. He had a since of humor. When he smiled his face lit up. It came in handy over the years. He had got out of a lot of tight spots over the year with his smile.

He opened the lid of the dumpster and was met with the smell of sour milk. Spotting it was easy as it was sitting right on top still in the container. Someone really did not keep the fridge cleaned out often enough. There were numerous plastic bags closed with ties. Good. He hated ruining a bag to open it. White and black bags would mean one came probably from the store and one from the second hand store. Which was which?

He grabbed the white bags. White meant kitchen. Possibly these were from the grocery store. He removed the twist tie and looked into the sack. Paper and sting, bits of limp veggie leaves, he threw it aside. The next white one had a dented can of refried beans
in it. It would be still eatable. Tyler set the can aside for later.

Ten minutes later he had a nice sized pile of items. Besides the can of beans there was a moldy package of cheese. Mold could be cut away, and then there would still be a good edible piece. That was all the food he found. In his Pile were other goodies he would look closer at in his camp. He gathered everything up and took it over and set it by his bag.
He returned to the dumpster and closed it. No sense in letting anyone know he had been there. Returning to his camp he sat down on his sleeping bag and placed the food his backpack. Now he could look at the cloths at leisure.
First thing he reached for was a pair of pants. He looked at the label. Wool was warm even when wet. These were wool. He checked the size and length. Perfect. He put them in his back pack. The next was a shirt. It was not very thick though, not much heat. He set it aside and grabbed the next item, a hand full of men’s wool socks. He looked at the length and matched them by length and size as well as he could. These would be really useful if he was caught out when it got really cold. The shelters were often overflowing
And the doors were often closed to those who were not willing to get there early.


He put the socks in his back pack and crawled into his bag, snuggling down. Nice and warm here with the wind blocked. He smiled. This has been a great day.

He reached over and lifted the last two items. A wool cap and a pair of beautiful
Ballet shoes. They were size four. His daughter would be about size four if he had not lost her. She would be getting quite big now. Life was not for children here on the street.
How would he have kept her safe? She was better where she was in a nice warm home.

Suddenly Tyler flung the shoes against the wall. Forget them. He reached into his bag and brought out a candle he had found the night before. Now that was a great find.
He could use it to warm his hands or to read by if he wanted to.