This will give you an example of how out of touch with reality our governing system has become.
There is a homeless man who wanders through our neighborhood. He is an elderly man in his 60’s. Harmless in almost every sense of the word. He uses a cane to help him walk. A few months ago, he had come up with some money and while walking through our neighborhood he noticed I had my van up for sale. He expressed an interest in purchasing the van. Knowing the problems with the van, I tried to talk him out of it because I knew there was no way for him to be able to afford the repairs which it needed. He insisted on purchasing the van anyway. I then told him how much I was asking for the vehicle thinking this would put him off of wanting it. Rather than putting him off, instead he began to haggle with me and we settled on a price considerably less than what I was asking. Again, I thought it would be irrelevant as I did not know he had enough money to make the purchase.
He offered me half down right then and told me he could have the other half in two weeks. I accepted his money thinking to myself that he would not be able to come up with the remainder of the payment and I would just refund his money to him later. Again, he surprised me by making the payment exactly on schedule. So, being a man of my word, I signed over the title to him. A few weeks later, I noticed a man working on the van and inquired as to what he was doing to my friend’s van. He told me he had been hired to repair the van. So, I just let him continue about his business.
Soon, the van was repaired and running. Over the course of the next few weeks I noticed Vincent, my friend’s name, was slowly filling up his van with stuff. After a while everything Vincent owned was in that van. To this day, the van still sits there with all of his worldly possessions in it. Why he hasn’t taken the van somewhere I don’t know. It isn’t any of my business, so I don’t pry.
Vincent, though homeless, is always doing something to help another person out. He is not capable of helping much as he is old and somewhat feeble, but he certainly tries his best. He has a good reputation with most of the people in our neighborhood and most just leave him alone to do as he wishes. When one neighbor suddenly came up missing a cherished picture of Jesus that had belonged to his mother and his mother’s mother, people in the neighborhood began to consider whether or not Vincent had stolen the picture. I personally don’t believe he did so. That is not the kind of man Vincent is. But there are those who are convinced that because he is homeless, he is to blame for the missing painting. Now, Vincent can prove he did not take the painting and he explained to me why he could not have been the person to take it. However, I cannot share that information with my neighbors because Vincent shared that with me in confidence.
I noticed lately that I had not seen Vincent around for about a month. I was becoming concerned about him. Today, though, I saw him at his van putting a crucifix he found in the garbage into his van. He plans to repaint it and maybe sell it. When I went out to talk with him he related this story to me.
It seems the reason we haven’t seen Vincent lately is that he has been in jail awaiting trial. His alleged crime: custodial interference of an adult. Ok, you should all understand what that means about the person against whom Vincent is accused of interfering with. As it turns out, Vincent came across this man on the streets a little over a month ago. The man appeared to be delusional and was very unkempt. Vincent took the man to a barber and got his hair cut. Then he took the man to the Mission downtown and got him a shower and some clean clothes. The person at the mission asked Vincent about the man he was helping. Vincent explained the situation to the mission worker. The worker then went about his business and Vincent thought that was the end of things. While he waited for the man to come out of the shower, as he intended to take the man to the Salvation Army for a meal, the police came in and arrested Vincent. Apparently, the man whom he was helping was a ward of the State and had certain mental disorders. There is apparently a law in this state that one cannot offer assistance to an adult who is a ward of the state unless you are part of an organization such as Goodwill or Salvation Army or the likes. So, Vincent has been sitting in jail awaiting trial for custodial interference. He faces a minimum sentence of one year in prison and up to five years if found guilty. The only reason he was released from jail today is because they were overcrowded and they had to release some people to make room for incoming people. If it weren’t for that, I may never have known about this situation.
Vincent must appear in court on Thursday, April 18, 2013. He expects that he will be found guilty (apparently his lawyer feels he is doing Vincent a favor by allowing him to go to prison) and to spend at least the next year in jail. To make matters worse, someone in our neighborhood has complained to the city about Vincent’s van. The city is going to tow the van sometime this week. Everything he owns is in that van and it is about to be stripped away from him. And for what? Because he dared to help people while homeless.
This is what our society has become. So, when people tell you that it is a bad thing that our country is failing and will soon fall apart, tell them it is a good thing. We deserve it for the way we treat people like Vincent.
UPDATE: July 03. I saw Vincent today. He was, indeed, found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison and five years parole after his release. He was granted early release from prison due to overcrowding issues and the low severity of his "crime." He has lost his van. The state confiscated it while he was in prison. He now walks around or rides a bicycle whenever he needs to go somewhere. This is a travesty. But, Vincent is in good spirits. He has a new lady friend and lives with her in her home. He still wanders the neighborhood and tries to help people, though and I expect this hardened criminal to be returned to prison for violating the terms of his parole.
There is a homeless man who wanders through our neighborhood. He is an elderly man in his 60’s. Harmless in almost every sense of the word. He uses a cane to help him walk. A few months ago, he had come up with some money and while walking through our neighborhood he noticed I had my van up for sale. He expressed an interest in purchasing the van. Knowing the problems with the van, I tried to talk him out of it because I knew there was no way for him to be able to afford the repairs which it needed. He insisted on purchasing the van anyway. I then told him how much I was asking for the vehicle thinking this would put him off of wanting it. Rather than putting him off, instead he began to haggle with me and we settled on a price considerably less than what I was asking. Again, I thought it would be irrelevant as I did not know he had enough money to make the purchase.
He offered me half down right then and told me he could have the other half in two weeks. I accepted his money thinking to myself that he would not be able to come up with the remainder of the payment and I would just refund his money to him later. Again, he surprised me by making the payment exactly on schedule. So, being a man of my word, I signed over the title to him. A few weeks later, I noticed a man working on the van and inquired as to what he was doing to my friend’s van. He told me he had been hired to repair the van. So, I just let him continue about his business.
Soon, the van was repaired and running. Over the course of the next few weeks I noticed Vincent, my friend’s name, was slowly filling up his van with stuff. After a while everything Vincent owned was in that van. To this day, the van still sits there with all of his worldly possessions in it. Why he hasn’t taken the van somewhere I don’t know. It isn’t any of my business, so I don’t pry.
Vincent, though homeless, is always doing something to help another person out. He is not capable of helping much as he is old and somewhat feeble, but he certainly tries his best. He has a good reputation with most of the people in our neighborhood and most just leave him alone to do as he wishes. When one neighbor suddenly came up missing a cherished picture of Jesus that had belonged to his mother and his mother’s mother, people in the neighborhood began to consider whether or not Vincent had stolen the picture. I personally don’t believe he did so. That is not the kind of man Vincent is. But there are those who are convinced that because he is homeless, he is to blame for the missing painting. Now, Vincent can prove he did not take the painting and he explained to me why he could not have been the person to take it. However, I cannot share that information with my neighbors because Vincent shared that with me in confidence.
I noticed lately that I had not seen Vincent around for about a month. I was becoming concerned about him. Today, though, I saw him at his van putting a crucifix he found in the garbage into his van. He plans to repaint it and maybe sell it. When I went out to talk with him he related this story to me.
It seems the reason we haven’t seen Vincent lately is that he has been in jail awaiting trial. His alleged crime: custodial interference of an adult. Ok, you should all understand what that means about the person against whom Vincent is accused of interfering with. As it turns out, Vincent came across this man on the streets a little over a month ago. The man appeared to be delusional and was very unkempt. Vincent took the man to a barber and got his hair cut. Then he took the man to the Mission downtown and got him a shower and some clean clothes. The person at the mission asked Vincent about the man he was helping. Vincent explained the situation to the mission worker. The worker then went about his business and Vincent thought that was the end of things. While he waited for the man to come out of the shower, as he intended to take the man to the Salvation Army for a meal, the police came in and arrested Vincent. Apparently, the man whom he was helping was a ward of the State and had certain mental disorders. There is apparently a law in this state that one cannot offer assistance to an adult who is a ward of the state unless you are part of an organization such as Goodwill or Salvation Army or the likes. So, Vincent has been sitting in jail awaiting trial for custodial interference. He faces a minimum sentence of one year in prison and up to five years if found guilty. The only reason he was released from jail today is because they were overcrowded and they had to release some people to make room for incoming people. If it weren’t for that, I may never have known about this situation.
Vincent must appear in court on Thursday, April 18, 2013. He expects that he will be found guilty (apparently his lawyer feels he is doing Vincent a favor by allowing him to go to prison) and to spend at least the next year in jail. To make matters worse, someone in our neighborhood has complained to the city about Vincent’s van. The city is going to tow the van sometime this week. Everything he owns is in that van and it is about to be stripped away from him. And for what? Because he dared to help people while homeless.
This is what our society has become. So, when people tell you that it is a bad thing that our country is failing and will soon fall apart, tell them it is a good thing. We deserve it for the way we treat people like Vincent.
UPDATE: July 03. I saw Vincent today. He was, indeed, found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison and five years parole after his release. He was granted early release from prison due to overcrowding issues and the low severity of his "crime." He has lost his van. The state confiscated it while he was in prison. He now walks around or rides a bicycle whenever he needs to go somewhere. This is a travesty. But, Vincent is in good spirits. He has a new lady friend and lives with her in her home. He still wanders the neighborhood and tries to help people, though and I expect this hardened criminal to be returned to prison for violating the terms of his parole.
RSS Feed