Day 108 = Gym + Homelessness

I'm still thinking about homelessness. I went to the gym tonight and while sitting in my air conditioned car at the stoplight before I got there, listening to ELO's "Sweet Talkin Woman" on the radio, I saw the Austin police apprehending a homeless man. They were checking his pockets and searching his belongings. Maybe he was the bad kind of homeless, but how do people get this way? OK, I know there are a million answers to that question. It's so complex; it's hard to comprehend myself.

After the gym, I went home and talked to Jonathan about the homeless problem. He's a chef, so I asked him if my 7-day old pork loin that's been in an airtight container in the fridge would be good to make into sandwiches and hand out to homeless people. He said he wouldn't serve it to guests but for homeless, that's OK. REALLY!!???!? I decided to chunk the pork loin in the trash because the last thing I need is to see a news story that says something to the effect of "homeless found dead after eating food reportedly distributed from a silver SUV...."

The statistics about the homeless in America are pretty staggering. I wondered recently how much should I budget per month for groceries and food. My mom and I pondered this, and she suggested $300 a month. I said I don't think I eat that much per month. That's $10/day. So I researched online to see how much people get in food stamps and then was going to base my budget on that. If there are people who live day after day like this, then why can't I? Well, it turns out there are many ways to become a food stamp recipient in Texas. But in order to get the max amount per month - only $176 - you have to be pretty bad off. That's about $6 a day. Can you live on $6 a day? If you are single, have a modest apartment, no car and make minimum wage (which I had to look up), then you are eligible for $14 a month in food stamps.