A Different Point of View

Walking along the sidewalk I stare down at the concrete.  The grey reflects the sky.  A dreary day.  I stop and look toward the apartments across the street.  Only rich people live there.  It is starting to snow.  The cold seeps into my thin jacket.  I heard people talking about the electricity going out when I was sitting in the warmth of the eating area of Chipolte's.  I bet the rich people are staying warm.  What the heck!  All the street lights just went out.  Even in the shopping center parking lot and the apartments are dark  Ha!  Now those rich people can be as cold as I am every night.  

My feet carry me to the entrance to the covered parking area of the apartments.  Maybe I can find an unlocked car door.  Sitting in a car in a seat out of the wind and rain would sure feel good.  I always look through the windows before I try the door.  Don't want to set off some car alarm accidentally.  The yellow light on the dashboard tells me if the car has a sensor.  None of the doors were unlocked on the first level of the parking garage.  

My tired, frozen feet take me across the darkened street to the other parking garage.  Still looking for a place to get out of the rain that has now turned to snow.  What the heck, this is central Texas.  It is not supposed to snow here.  One car then another pickup, all locked.  There is a Jeep with a dust cover.  

My stiff fingers lift the edge of the dust cover.  How stupid can rich people be?  I can sit right here with this cover down and be out of the weather.  Hidden from the curious eyes of the rich.  Rich always judging me.  I hate their eyes.  It was fine for me to go "protect them" from the towel heads.  But back here in the US, they won't look at me.  Ask for a dollar?  They sometimes spit at me.

Let me see what I can find in this Jeep.  The glove box is not even locked.  All kinds of things I can add to my backpack.  I've always wanted a GPS so I'll just tear this loose from the windshield.  Stupid rich people.  Look, I found a bag of face masks, sanitizers, and cleaning cloths.  Guess these rich folks are trying to keep from getting Covid.  Anyway, more for my backpack.  I may spit on the steering wheel just to leave some infection for them rich folks.  

How much longer is it going to be so cold?  Even though I am able to go get some food, the walk to and from Mcdonald's is torture.  I have taken all the blankets and covers from the backseat.  I still shiver.  I check the entrance to the apartment halls.  Locked.  But the hall is full of snow.  Ha, rich people get snow on their feet, too.  I return to the Jeep, eat my food.  I just throw my trash on the floor.  If I had a knife I might rip the cloth roof of this stupid, rich person's Jeep.  But not till the lights are back on and I can sit inside some warm place for a while.

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Entrance by our apartment

Background:  The above story is looking back to last year's snowmageddon.  A writing prompt suggested looking at an event from a different point of view.  I chose to take the point of view of the homeless person that used our 1999 Jeep Wrangler for protection.  The doors were off the Jeep so the protection was minimal and the entrance was easy.  The Jeep was in the south parking garage, protected by a partial wall.  Everything that was not locked up was pilfered.  Everything from the useful items to trinkets.  During the time someone was using our Jeep, we had relocated to our Son's home as he had heat and we did not.  Once back in our home, Hubby went to check the battery of the Jeep.  The battery was working but he discovered the trash and theft.  We could have been terribly angry.  But the truth is that Jeep may have saved a life.  It certainly provided shelter for someone.

Take care,

Janice