This is Sheila...


This is Sheila, we met this evening while I was out walking. Given the holiday the streets were very quiet and I hadn’t intended on talking to anyone. As I walked home I spotted Sheila in the next block singing, talking, and rummaging through a small pile of clothes on the sidewalk. At first I thought it was from a trashcan but then realized they were hers. As I walked around her she looked up and spotted the camera which I was holding. “Take my picture! Take my Picture!” she exclaimed and stood up straight. So I did. She then asked me for cigarettes and money, neither which I had, I told her, but offered her a gift card (which others have given me for the sole purpose to give away). She took the card, kissed it, and exclaimed, “Thank you, Baby!” That’s all I really know about Sheila. Sometimes I’m simply too tired to even talk. She quickly stuffed her clothes in a bag and asked if I wanted to walk with her. I declined and told her maybe another time. Then we parted in opposite directions and as I walked down the quiet street on the Fourth of July with fireworks popping in the distance I could hear Sheila singing in the background.

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