Steve Lopez's column today describes one small step in getting one more person off the street. He also hints at another possible success and not long his column went to press, I got another phone call from a mother recounting yet another small miracle.
Three miracles in one day.
Now if I can only get Stevie to quote me properly...
When he asked me to describe myself - I called myself a 'pain in the ass', even though I expected that to get edited to being a 'pain in the butt'. Alas - he went for a totally different and far less accurate physical description.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez1feb01,0,6301786.column?coll=la-headlines-california
STEVE LOPEZ / POINTS WEST
A Homeless Man Needs Pushy Friends Steve Lopez Points West February 1, 2006
They camp at the western ends of two downtown Los Angeles tunnels. Nathaniel on 2nd, Ernest on 3rd, and occasionally their paths cross. This week, each man's story took a turn.
I'll start with Ernest Adams, who has been living at the spot where he was nearly beaten to death last August by two animals inspired by a bum-bashing video. Adams didn't want to go to a scheduled doctor appointment Monday morning, but his pal Brady Westwater was trying to talk him into it."
Feel free to step in here at any time," Westwater, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Council, said to me.
I might add that in describing that exchange, Mr. Lopez has (charitably) chosen not to reflect the extreme degree of sarcasm in my voice as after I had given him a second - if not third - cue to offer Ernest a ride to the doctor's - totally clueless Lopez was still standing there like a bump on a log.
Other than that, though, the rest of his story is pretty accurate.
When I read your 'feel free to step' in comment in Lopez's column, I almost fell off my chair laughing. Even before I read your explanation, I could just hear you saying that.
ReplyDeleteYou are always galloping off to save damsels in distress and chase after the bad guys, leaving the rest of us behind in a cloud of dust trying to catch up with you.
Don't ever change.