Tonight my bf and I went to the 16th annual Taste of Danforth; a two-day Greek festival. We both have never been to it so I was excited to not only go but experience it with my bf who had never gone as well. We got there and it was basically one big street festival of food, music, and live performances (among other small things like 2 mini volleyball courts and a small kiddie ride area). The line-ups were loooooonnnnnnng but with chicken souvlaki for $4 up to Kangaroo burgers for $4 one can see why. We didnt get to try the Kangaroo burger, much to my boyfriends sadness but we did eat chicken souvlaki on a pita, gyros and I had some thai. For 5 bucks I got chicken pad thai and a drink and there was ALOT of thai in that little bowl. Good food, good eats and a nice time!!
Besides the food there were sooooo many interracial couples. Bm/ww, BW/WM, BM/AW, AM/IW etc. It was really nice. I saw alot of white men with black women and their children tot he point where no one batted an eye at me or my bf or any of the other couples. It was really nice. I didnt feel stared at. BUT there were a few bm who would stare at me then look at my bf and back at me before they looked away again quickly. Oh well....I guess you cant win them all right?? Thats ok....I didnt care either way. I was enjoying the sights, sounds and people around me!
On the train ride home there was a homeless woman. Her clothes were modest and pretty clean looking but up close I could see they were not that clean. She didnt smell funny and her hair was kept in a loose borderline messy bun under a wide hat, but her eyes said she was sad, nervous and ashamed. She approached my bf and I and paused before asking quickly if we had any tokens that she could use. She clutched her chest as she spoke and I knew she was being sincere. I had none it was my bf's tokens that I used to get on the train. She walked away and moved onto some people behind us who mocked and laughed at her. She went and sat back to her original seat and put her head down only looking up at me for a brief moment before returning her gaze back to the floor. I watched as some young guys came on the train and she asked them twice before one gave her some of his change.
I looked at her and thought about how in this recession all of us on that train could easily end up like her and my heart went out to her. My bf noticed how I suddenly became quiet and asked what was wrong. I told him what I was thinking and he became quiet too. After a moment he asked me if I still had my change from earlier and I said yes. So I put together $5 and he pulled out 2 tokens and we decided that he would give it to her. My bf didnt give it to her right away but instead he got caught up in the conversation of the people behind as they critizied and mocked her. Sad part is she was sitting really close to them and easily overheard everything they said. As soon as the the next stop came she got up and ran off the train and down the platform. I saw the look on her face as she turned to look at them and she looked ashamed and sad.
I feel so bad. In fact we both felt so bad for her. I am on a really tight budget but I considered giving her my $20; half of my food money for the week just because I could see she needed it more than me. They called her a crack head and even asked how she could be begging (in hindsight even though Ididnt hear all of their onvo I did hear when they said that part before she bolted from the train). I've seen crack heads. In fact last week I seen 2 begging for money at the intersection to the gym I go to. Up until then I didnt know what a crack head looked like but seeing them itch and scartch themselves, be so figity and look around as if someone is calling them from different directions every 3 seconds was clear that they were on drugs. This woman was not. She was humble, and ashamed and those people mocking and judging her was disgusting.
I dont understand people like that. I wish she had stayed so we could give her the $5 and 2 tokens. Instead she is somewhere, anywhere right now possibly feeling sad and depressed because of a inconsiderate few. My bf felt bad for not getting up sooner to give it to her. I dont blame him he wanted to wait till the train stopped before he gave it to her. She was waiting till the train stopped so she could get away from those people. Its not his fault.
I'm going to pray for her.
Till we speak again everyone!
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