Daily Reminder

I see him each day pushing his grocery cart filled with his life’s possessions. It seems to take every ounce of his strength to push the cart up Highland Avenue to his home in the bushes in the Hollywood Bowl parking lot.

He is probably only 30 years old, although his stooped stature makes him seem much older. He wears what looks like at least four layers of clothing.

I don’t understand the dread I feel on the days I don’t see him or the relief when he appears after a cold or rainy night. Why did I think of him as I sat down to Christmas dinner?

The problems I encounter cannot compare to his day-to-day struggle to survive. I feel guilty and sad and as helpless as he is homeless. He has become my conscience.

HELEN MANFRED

Hollywood