Reflections

Time

• By fannieb
• August 27, 2014
• No Comments

I can’t believe it’s the end of August already. Time is passing.

As I walked along the quiet streets of downtown Richmond early Sunday afternoon I saw a number of black men in their 40s, 50s, and 60s sitting around on curbs, on stoops, and on benches. Some were sitting alone. Others were sitting in small groups of three or four. They were just sitting still, peaceful and nonthreatening. Sitting. Thinking. Being. It was a nice day to be taking in the weather – unseasonably cool and dry for a day at the end of August, but I couldn’t help but think, ‘Don’t these men have anything better to do?’

They were just sitting there. These men did not look homeless to me. None were overly dirty or pushing a shopping cart full of tin cans around or panhandling. These men just didn’t fit the image of a stereotypical homeless person, although they very well could have been.

Then it dawned on me, ‘Why was sitting around, relaxing, and enjoying a summer breeze not the best use of their time that lazy Sunday afternoon? Why should this pastime not be good enough? There are far worse things they could have been doing. Who am I to judge if time is passing them or if they are passing time?’