I was waiting to meet someone outside the Eaton Centre in the pouring rain, and there was this man. He was pacing through puddles in his barefeet and had some police crime scene tape wrapped around his head. He was yelling at a bunch of strangers in Dundas Square so my first impression of him was that he was crazy, a Jesus freak or a panhandler at least. The kind you usually avoid making eye contact with. But I did make eye contact with him, and then I couldn't look away.
"I got kicked out of my apartment last night...my landlord didn't pay the hydro... I didn't do anything wrong but I ended up getting kicked out into the street..in this freezing cold and rain, and i had to go to the poorhouse... I'm supposed to have too much dignity to admit that I spent a night at a poorhouse...people judged me, people saw me sitting on the street today and think i'm this or that but they don't know nothing about me...
"God loves you, jesus loves you...that doesn't mean nothing. Who cares if god loves you or not? It's not important. I LOVE YOU. that's what matters...I LOVE YOU. I was on the streets all day and these kids man, these kids came up and gave me their change... "
"It's like this [pulls out these two small curved pieces of cardboard from his pocket, one blue one red and holds them up]. You're looking at these and you're trying to figure out which one is bigger. look up around you at all these signs and bilboards and advertisements... They can sell you an alarm clock in Futureshop for 70 dollars by putting its picture on a bilboard, and you can get the same thing in chinatown for eight bucks..where does all that extra profit go? Yhey're the same thing. It's an illusion. [holds up the pieces of cardboard again and places one over the other]. the red one appreared bigger but they're the same size. You were trusting your eyes instead of what was really there.. but the kids man.... they came up to me and gave me their change. i love the children. have a great day"
and walked off.
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