CONVERSATIONS WITH DEMONS

NOTES OF A JOYFUL CYNIC

The secret in the hearts of patio people – those good people who might support social programs at the polls and voting booths but only support themselves in their daily lives – the secret in their hearts is this: Unsheltered people in their neighborhood are not their neighbors, no, never! what a blight…

But also: Should all the homeless people die quietly in the night, the streets suddenly free of panhandlers, dope addicts, the mentally ill, and every other manner of down-and-out human beings who do not fit the mode of model society in the morning, these good and beautiful people would not only refrain from asking where their unsheltered neighbors had gone, they would breathe a deep sigh of relief, secretly grateful that they will never again have to see those people with their shopping carts and their bottles and their tents; secretly grateful that they will never again have to pat their pockets and shrug guiltily when they are asked for a dollar, change, or something to get a bite to eat…