If you were homeless, that is.
I saw something on Sunday morning that sullied my wholesome Midwest sensibilities. Something that got me thinking about this very question.
I was feeling particularly grateful on this, the second beautiful weekend morn, that I didn’t have to stay inside and work. I had enjoyed coffee at the cyber cafe downtown and was walking up Government Hill to visit Beth at the Galleon House, where she works all weekend as the front desk manager. The job allows her to hang with friends on the verandah overlooking historic downtown Charlotte Amalie. And do fun things like cook vegan dishes and make beaded jewelry.
While climbing 99 Steps, I notice a homeless woman who has, of late, been living in the hillside park within the circular drive on Government Hill. She is stationed on the upper part of the park, relatively close to the road that serves as a driveway for local restaurants, lodgings, and attractions, not to mention the Office of the Governor. She appears to be crouching. It looks rather like a bathroom squat to me, but I don’t think it possible.
I continue up the steps, trying not to stare. But naturally, I can’t help but glance in her direction the closer I get to the top. I am compelled, however disgustingly, to decipher what exactly she is doing. To disprove my suspicions, I hope.
But yes. It certainly seems like she is positioned in a bathroom squat. When I get behind her, I confirm that her pants are, indeed, down and she seems ready to wipe her ass with what looks like paper, and not of the toilet variety.
Oh my. I just witnessed a homeless woman shitting in the park before noon on a Sunday.
I share this with Beth and she seems far less surprised. Perhaps she’s seen more grit than me. (Although, I must add that two of my St. Thomian co-workers assured me they had never seen someone poo in public.)
“I don’t know, Beth,” I say. “Don’t you think she could at least wait until the sun goes down?”
“Could you wait until the sun goes down?”
She had a point.
When you have to go. You have to go.
But I’m privileged to be choosy about where I void my bowels. I used to drive twenty minutes home from work during my lunch hour for the mere comfort of shitting in my own home.
I’ve never before pondered the bathroom habits of the homeless. Does it create anxiety? It certainly would for me.
What has brought this lady to the point of pulling down her britches and squatting in the park under the midday sun, while not even bothering to hide behind a tree? It seems to me, from this and other observations, that she suffers from a debilitating mental illness and lacks access to the medication and resources necessary to keep her functioning more normally. This, of course, is the unfortunate cause behind many instances of homelessness in America.
Knowing this, I still can't help feeling repulsed, but her condition is also heartbreaking.
Thoughts, anyone?
Where would you poo?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
anyone with pride would find a private place homeless or not
ReplyDeleteI know exactly which woman you are referring to. She is one that I learned quickly to hold my breath when passing, the body odor was sickening. The thing that always bothered me about this poor woman is the fact that she is actually attractive....could maybe be stunning if she were healthy.
ReplyDeleteYou and I have both come to recognize the homeless in Charlotte Amalie. It is a sad situation as it is obvious that they suffer from mental illness. The US Virgin Islands has a long way to go when it comes to getting the right care for these unfortunates. And I always try to remember....but for the grace of God, there go I.
i remember when i was down there and after me and sara had lunch with pam we met a homless guy that Pam knew and made a think it was a rose out of a reed. pretty cool but he really needed a bath. and i agree with dad, go find a place behind some cover. last week when we were in LA driving around the night before the cruise we were driving by the beverly hills police department and there was a homeless guy just peeing on the side of the road, so it can happen anywhere.
ReplyDelete"Oh my. I just witnessed a homeless woman shitting in the park before noon on a Sunday."
ReplyDeleteYou just made my day. :)
Darin,
ReplyDeleteThe gentleman who makes the flowers from palm fronds is Dan. He's still here. He comes into the coffee shop in the morning a few times a week and actually pays for his coffee instead of trying to get it free like some people. Even if he pays for it with crumpled up dollar bills and dirty coins. He's actually a well educated fellow from a prestigious island family who has lost his mind, somehow or another. Usually he smells bad but is always respectful and I've never seen him use the public as his bathroom. I have a growing collection of his flowers. He knows I'm a sucker like my mom. The woman I saw shitting in the park is definitely mentally ill. I know from my days working in a group home that the people there who were schizophrenic, etc, would have been out on the streets too if it weren't for the public services provided for the mentally disabled. I don't think this woman necessarily realized that she was doing anything offensive. I think she's that far gone.
Where would you poo? On my blessed little boat I was stationed on we had two toilets in the head. They were opposite each other so that when both were occupied your knee would be between the other guy's. You could knock heads if you leaned forward. This wretched arrangement didn't bother some which gave rise (my theory) to the "phantom shi**er" who, instead of using the head, "deposited" in front of the vent system. A "posse" of two staked it out and caught the offender and threw him overboard which wasn't as bad as it sounds. We were somewhere up a muddy river. He survived and the deposits ended. So, to answer your question, "it depends."
ReplyDeleteKS