I handed dollars to two homeless people today.

The first was hardened. Her cardboard sign said she was a single parent. Her skin was darkened by the sun. Her face was flat. Her eyes angry. Her hair was black. She carried a transparent parasol. She had a bottle of water. A small new backpack. Maybe she was not homeless. It was 98 degrees and sunny with no shade. She must have had a good reason for standing out there begging.

The second was a very thin man, his face long with vertical lines, like a Christ by el Greco.

His sign said he was a veteran. His skin was so darkened by the sun, you could hardly see the colorful tattoos on his forearm. He was detached from the present. Far away. His suffering so transparent I cried without thought as I drove away.